11 


I 


%0J1TV,>JV' 


AOSANGElfj> 


:^ummO/ 


MIFO% 


mui^' 


(7^ 


■N^.O]^ 


''^/<^'n-!rivi  40 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2007  witli  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/atliletesalltrainOOcampiala 


ATHLETES  ALL 

TRAINING,  ORGANIZATION,  AND  PLAY 


SCHOOL,  COLLEGE,  AND  SERVICE  ATHLETICS 

ATHLETES  ALL 

TRAINING,  ORGANIZATION,  AND  PLAY 


BY 

WALTER  CAMP 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1919 


COPTBIOHT.  1919,   BT 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Published  AprU.  1919 


G-V 


TO 
AMERICAN   BOYS 

AND   ALL   THEY    DID 
HEBE  AND  OVER  THERE 


/ 


PREFACE 

If  there  has  been  anything  clearly  demon- 
strated beyond  cavil  and  question  in  our  ex- 
perience in  this  war,  it  is  the  great  value  of 
athletic  sports  in  America.  Not  only  have 
our  fighters  turned  out  to  be  effective,  but 
the  lessons  of  discipKne,  courage,  and  spirit 
inculcated  on  the  athletic  fields  have  been 
found  to  quicken  very  materially  the  proc- 
esses of  making  civilians  into  soldiers.  So 
much  has  this  proven  true  and  so  impres- 
sive has  the  demonstration  been  that  the 
American  is  now  athleticizing  (if  one  may  use 
the  word)  all  our  foreign  alUes.  True,  Eng- 
land was  the  pioneer  in  athletic  sports,  but  of 
late  years  much  of  the  increased  development 
and  specializing  has  come  from  American 
sources,  even  though  the  spread  of  these 
games,  together  with  the  Olympic  games,  had 
introduced  more  nations  to  the  enjoyment  of 
athletic  contests.  But  it  remained  for  this 
war  to  prove  how  valuable  these  athletics 
were  to  the  rank  and  file,  and  all  the  allied 


viii  PREFACE 

forces  are  now  inoculated  with  the  zeal  for 
sport.  Yet  it  should  be  remembered  that, 
after  all,  our  boys  were  the  ones  who  had  had 
these  athletics  in  the  very  earliest  days,  even 
before  they  put  on  long  trousers,  and  this 
educational  development  along  these  lines  has 
told,  as  the  evidence  in  this  war  soundly  cor- 
roborates. For  this  reason  it  seems  particu- 
larly appropriate  that  something  in  the  re- 
sume of  not  only  the  present  sports  but  those 
that  have  been  brought  into  special  promi- 
nence by  the  war  should  be  compiled  for  the 
use  of  our  boys  and  young  men  throughout 
the  nation.  They  are  the  ones  who  have  been 
looking  forward  eagerly  and  wishing  they 
were  older  in  order  to  be  in  this  contest. 
And  they  form  the  stock  and  backbone  of  the 
generation  that  is  coming  on,  and  upon  whom 
will  come,  whether  they  like  it  or  not,  many 
of  the  further  burdens  which  are  now  upon 
older  shoulders.  This  book  is  offered  in  the 
hope  that  it  will  be  of  some  service  in  this 
way. 


CONTENTS 

I.    INTRODUCTION— ATHLETICS  AND 
PREPAREDNESS 


PAOB 


Introduction 3 

II.  HEALTH  AND  SPORTSMANSHIP 

CBAPTEB 

I.  Care  of  the  Body 33 

II.  General  Hygiene 37 

III.  Pluck 43 

IV.  Energy  and  Persistence     ...  49 

V.    Fair  Play  an   Essential  in  any 

Form  of  Athletic  Sports      .     .       54 

HI.    INFORMAL  GAMES  AND  STANDARD- 
IZED INSTRUCTIONS 

VI.    Development  of  Athletics  in  Ser- 
vice Stations 61 

Vn.    Standardized  Instructions  ...       69 

VIII.    Forms     of     Contests     Involving 

Large  Numbers  of  Men  ...       79 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTEB  PAQB 

IX.    Qames  Adapted  to  Smaller  Groups  115 

X.    Rouqh-and-Readt  Games     .     .     .  128 

XI.    Games  for  Individual  or  Pair  Com- 
petition      130 

XII.  Group  op  Spontaneous  Games, 
Adapted  to  Both  Gymnasium  and 
Playground,  Calling  for  Only 

a  Small  Number  of  Participants  133 

IV.    ORGANIZATION  AND  MANAGEMENT 

XIII.    Committees  in  School  and  Camps  141 

XrV.    Organization 147 

XV.    Management 153 

XVI.    The  Duties  of  the  Manager  ,     .  160 

XVII.    The  Duties  of  the  Captain     .  168 

XVIII.    How  to  Conduct  an  Athletic  Meet  175 

V.    TRACK,  GYMNASIUM,  AND  FIELD 

XIX.    Olympic  Games 185 

XX.    Cross-Country  Running      .     ...  191 

XXI.    Getting  Ready  for  Outdoor  Work  196 


CONTENTS  xi 

CBAPTKB  PAOa 

XXII.    General  Baseball  Suggestions    .  202 

XXIII.    Dangers  of  Baseball  as  a  Profes- 
sion       210 

XXrV.    The  Importance  of  Coaching  in 

Baseball 215 

XXV.    Winter  Sports 222 

XXVI.    More  About  Winter  Training     .  228 

XXVII.    Wrestling  and  Boxing  ....  234 

XXVIII.    Keeping  Fit  in  Winter  ....  245 

XXIX.    Condensed  Football  Plan  .     .     .  268 

Athletes'  Code 271 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Naval  Recruits  at  Daily  Setting-up  Drill  During  the 
War Frontispiece 

Mobilization  of  College  Men  on  the  Yale  Campus 

facing  page  6 

Boys  in  the  City "  36 

Boys  in  the  Country "  40 

At  the  Pelham  Bay  Naval  Station  .      .              "  70 

Diagram  of  Chariot  Race page  81 

The  Chariot  Race facing  page  80 

The  Tug-of-War — Pelham  Bay  Naval  Station 

facing  page  88 

Mass  Play "  94 

Track  Meet  at  Pelham  Bay  Station    .      .              "  120 

The  Modified  Marathon,  New  York  City              "  200 

Yale-Princeton  Baseball  Game,  Princeton,  N.  J. 

facing  page  208 

Hockey  Practice,  McGill  University  .      .              "  224 

The  Daily  Dozen  Set-up     .      .      .       between  pages  i5^-%55 

A  Football  Game  of  the  Nineties,  Springfield,  Mass. 

facing  page  268 

A  Football  Match  in  the  New  Yale  Bowl               "  270 

xiii 


I 

INTRODUCTION 
ATHLETICS  AND   PREPAREDNESS 


INTRODUCTION 

WHEN  AMERICANS   FOUND   THEMSELVES 
UNPREPARED 

In  September  of  1914  a  metropolitan  news- 
paper on  its  editorial  page  published  the  fol- 
lowing: 

AMERICANS.  PEACE,  AND  PREPARATION 
BY   WALTER   CAMP 

Guard  your  shores  and  train  your  men. 
Teach  your  growing  youth  to  fight. 

Make  your  plans  ere  once  again 
Ships  of  foes  appear  in  sight. 

Teach  new  arts  until  you  hold 

In  your  bounds  all  things  you  need. 

Then  you  can't  be  bought  or  sold; 
From  commercial  bonds  be  freed ! 

If  Manhattan  rich  you'd  save, 

If  your  Western  Golden  Gate —  i. 

Train  a  field  force,  rule  the  wave. 
Every  day  you're  tempting  fate ! 

Build  your  ships  and  train  to  arms. 
Make  your  millions  fighting  strength 

That  shall  frighten  war's  alarms 
Ere  they  reach  a  challenge  length ! 
8 


4  ATHLETES  ALL 

A  huge  professional  army  may  lead  directly  to  war. 
Many  believe  that  it  does.  But  a  home  force  of  cer- 
tain preparatory  experience  is  a  duty  that  the  condi- 
tions to-day  are  forcing  upon  our  senses.  With  a  navy 
and  the  possibility  of  calling  into  action  a  third  of 
our  male  population  our  security  would  probably  be 
assured. 

How  shall  we  prepare  that  third?  We  must  make 
it  patriotic  and  fashionable  to  drill.  The  first  step 
toward  that  should  be  undertaken  by  the  athletes  of 
colleges  for  the  force  of  example. 

Make  it  possible  and  popular  through  the  force  of 
the  example  of  the  leaders,  and  we  shall  have  a  wave 
of  military  training  sweeping  the  country  and  leaving 
behind  it  something  far  more  valuable  than  the  usual 
resultant  of  enthusiasm. 

But  when  the  war  actually  came  to  us  we 
were  unprepared.  More  than  that,  we  then 
learned  of  our  inherent  physical  weakness 
when  29.11  per  cent  were  rejected  in  the 
draft !  But  we  set  our  teeth  and  went  to  our 
task. 

Unlimited  money,  the  turning  over  of  prod- 
ucts and  material  to  the  government  without 
profits,  and  finally  the  offering  of  self  in  the 
service — that  is  the  answer  that  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  made  to  the  call  of  their 
country  !     Money,  material,  and  men — these 


INTRODUCTION  5 

three,  if  efficiently  used  and  given  time,  will 
win  any  war. 

Up  and  down  the  broad  Hillhouse  Avenue 
in  New  Haven,  under  the  quiet  arching  elms, 
tramped  the  khaki-clad  youth  whom  only  a 
few  months  ago  I  saw  in  football  uniform  try- 
ing for  the  team.  The  sharp  signals  of  the 
quarter-back  had  given  place  to  the  "one,  two, 
three,  four !  *'  of  the  drill-sergeant.  Two  thou- 
sand of  these  boys,  from  seven  in  the  morning 
till  sundown,  were  learning  the  new  lessons. 
At  Princeton  and  Harvard,  at  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Cornell,  at  Columbia  and  at  hun- 
dreds of  other  seats  of  learning  the  same 
thing  was  going  on.  And  what  of  the  older 
men.'* 

At  the  Biltmore,  in  New  York,  one  evening 
I  met  Fred  Stevenson,  the  captain  of  that  '88 
crew  that  for  so  long  held  the  record  of  the 
Thames.  He  looked  tired  and  worn.  He  had 
been  in  Washington  working  up  the  details  of 
his  specialty  telephone  service  for  the  govern- 
ment. 

An  hour  later  I  met  at  the  Yale  Club  Vance 
McCormick,  the  old  football  captain  and  quar- 


6  ATHLETES  ALL 

ter,  just  back  from  Washington  and  hurrying 
on  there  again.     He  remarked  with  the  same 
^tired  and  drawn  face:  "I  wish  I  could  get  some 
exercise.'* 

I  caught  Fred  Allen,  of  Lee,  Higginson  Com- 
pany, another  old  crew  captain,  just  rushing 
off,  with  hurry  and  worry  stamped  on  his  fea- 
tures, to  Washington,  but  having  time  to 
introduce  me  to  Brown,  of  Harvard,  who 
brought  over  Iselin,  and  we  talked  about  what 
George  Wharton  Pepper,  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  National  Board  of  Defense  were  accom- 
phshing.  At  Bonbright's  they  were  awaiting 
the  return  of  Fred  Walcott  and  Harry  Stimson 
from  their  pilgrimage  through  the  West  for 
universal  military  training. 

And  so  it  went — all  these  men  throwing 
themselves  into  the  cause!  On  my  desk  lay 
dozens  of  unopened  envelopes  with  the  names 
of  financial  firms.  There  was  no  need  to  open 
these.  Each  would  say  that  their  services 
were  at  the  call  of  the  government  and  their 
clients,  to  place  the  bond  issue.  But  there 
were  other  envelopes.  When  I  began  to  open 
these  I  found  the  contents  bore  one  important 
question  repeated  in  various  forms:  "I  want  to 


INTRODUCTION  7 

do  something  of  service  to  the  country.  What 
can  I  do?" 

Then  with  the  vision  of  the  tired  faces  of 
those  men  with  whom  I  had  talked  and  who 
had  found  what  they  could  do,  and  with  the 
thought  of  all  those  others  who  were  asking 
the  question,  I  sat  down  to  study  out  an 
answer.  I  knew  I  would  never  have  let  a  foot- 
ball man  look  as  McCormick  looked  without 
"laying  him  off"  for  a  day  or  two.  I  knew  I 
should  have  despaired  of  a  race  rowed  by  a 
crew  looking,  on  the  day  before,  as  Fred  Ste- 
venson and  Fred  Allen  did.  I  knew  that  if  as 
many  men  as  were  writing  me  letters  were 
offering  themselves  as  candidates  for  a  team,  I 
could  have  a  squad  that  would  mean  a  won- 
derful eleven  when  they  had  been  through 
three  months  of  preparation. 

Then  came  the  realization  that  all  these  men 
needed  a  something  that  meant  the  same  at 
forty  that  it  had  meant  when  they  were 
twenty,  but  in  different  form.  It  meant  a 
course  of  training  or  else  some  of  them  would 
"go  fine"  from  overwork  and  some  of  them 
would  be  useless  from  no  work. 

The  Wall  Street  Journal  told  a  little  story 


8  ATHLETES  ALL 

the  other  day.  A  Western  raihoad  president 
of  unusual  ability  and  energy  settled  his 
earthly  accounts  a  few  weeks  ago.  The  de- 
spatch said:  "Railroad  men  in  the  West  felt  a 
great  loss,  and  Eastern  financiers  saw  a  vacant 
chair  that  could  not  be  readily  filled."  A  year 
ago  a  friend  had  said  to  him:  "You  are  over- 
working. Let  me  introduce  you  to  my  doc- 
tor.'* And  the  doctor  said:  "Your  vitality  is 
imdermined.  I  see  it  in  your  face.  Your 
brain  has  overtaxed  your  body.  Take  a  vaca- 
tion immediately."  The  railroad  man  replied 
that  he  had  then  no  time  to  rest.  Some 
months  later  his  friend  found  him  in  bed,  but 
he  said :  "  I  shall  be  up  in  a  week.  Your  doctor 
was  right,  but  I  cannot  rest.  My  salary  is 
fifty  thousand  and  I  have  just  received  a  bonus 
of  fifty  thousand.  One  cannot  accept  this 
remuneration  without  assuming  the  responsi- 
bilities that  go  with  it." 

His  friend  urged  him  once  more  on  the  basis 
of  his  value  to  the  road,  but  the  railroad  presi- 
dent repHed:  "I  shall  be  out  in  a  week.  I 
must  be  on  the  job.  Responsibilities  will  not 
let  me  leave  at  this  time.  Later  I  can  rest." 
Later  he  did  rest.     He  rested  forever ! 


INTRODUCTION  9 

WHAT   WAS   THE   MATTER? 

Of  what  value  can  a  man  be  to  the  govern- 
ment or  to  his  country  when  a  greater  power 
than  his  business  or  his  government  gives 
orders  for  his  final  rest  ?  But  why  was  all  this 
true  ?  Why  did  we  have  30  per  cent  rejected 
in  the  draft  ? 

If  a  man  thought  he  had  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  in  the  bank  and  then  found  upon 
trying  to  draw  upon  it  that  his  balance  was 
only  seventy  thousand,  he  would  feel  that 
some  examination  was  necessary.  Let  us  face 
things  as  they  are.  We  found  a  rejection  of 
SO  per  cent  of  our  men  under  the  draft,  and 
that  certainly  should  be  enough  to  cause  us  to 
make  a  pretty  careful  examination  into  the 
reasons.  Such  physical  education  as  we  had 
must  be  revised.  Those  who  advocate  still 
continuing  the  foreign  systems  which  we  have 
been  teaching  our  physical  leaders  in  the  last 
fifty  years  pretty  generally  admit  now  that 
some  kind  of  a  change  is  necessary.  If  this  is 
so,  why  not  take  advantage  of  the  cumulative 
wisdom  of  those  who  have  made  a  scientific 
study  into  the  matter  and  couple  this  with  the 


10  ATHLETES  ALL 

practical  side,  which  means  that  we  should 
save  all  the  time  possible  and  get  results,  and 
then  make  a  real  effort  to  throw  off  the  yoke 
of  *'old-fashionedness" — going  on  doing  things 
because  they  have  been  done,  even  though  we 
have  found  that  they  have  not  produced  the 
proper  results.  In  other  words,  do  just  what 
we  have  done  with  boats,  aeroplanes,  guns, 
and  everything  else,  discard  the  obsolete  and 
take  up  the  modern.  There  are  plenty  who 
know  the  utter  failure  of  the  present  methods 
and  who  have  recently  put  their  knowledge 
into  print.  Take,  for  instance.  Doctor  Delano 
and  Doctor  Bohn.  The  former,  a  practising 
physician  of  large  experience,  who  has  made  a 
study  of  this  matter,  says:  *' Since  muscle  gives 
us  the  readiest  exhibition  of  energizing,  man- 
kind falls  into  the  error  of  assuming  without 
further  examination  that  muscular  contraction 
is  exercise.  The  reductio  ad  absurdum  of  the 
dynamic  view  of  exercise  might  be  illustrated 
by  a  man  taking  a  dumb-bell  in  hand,  resting 
elbow  on  a  table  and  flexing  the  forearm  on 
the  arm.  If  he  increased  the  weight  and  the 
number  of  contractions  daily,  we  may  be  sure 
that  the  biceps  would  respond  by  increasing  in 


INTRODUCTION  11 

Size  and  power;  there  would  be  much  work 
done,  as  measured  by  foot-pounds,  but  what 
of  exercise  ?  From  our  point  of  view  a  negh- 
gible  quantity  thereof,  in  no  sense  proportion- 
ate to  the  time  and  effort !" 

And  then  he  goes  on  to  say: 

"Elaborate  attention  has  been  given  to  all 
the  varieties  of  systems  through  which  muscles 
are  enhsted  to  make  effort.  Small  wonder, 
then,  that,  coming  to  the  runner — whose  char- 
acteristic pose  of  thrown-back  head  and  open 
drawn-down  mouth,  depicted  with  fidelity — he 
should  speak  of  the  platysma  as  the  *last  mus- 
cle of  effort.'  This  goes  on  further  than  to 
say  that  it  is  a  part  of  the  grand  strain.  But 
the  speed  of  the  runner  could  not  be  increased 
by  any  action  of  the  platysma.  As  well  to  say 
that  the  barber,  snapping  his  eyes  as  he 
snapped  his  shears,  was  increasing  his  effec- 
tiveness. On  the  contrary,  the  platysma  is  a 
muscle  of  respiration  and  the  runner  is  uncon- 
sciously striving  to  increase  his  thorax  capac- 
ity. It  is  the  last  muscle  of  effort — but  effort 
to  breathe — not  to  run.'* 

Of  the  things  we  have  been  doing:  "Even 
more  wearing  than  daily  toil,  though,  must  be 


12  ATHLETES  ALL 

that  sublimated  work  that  men  submit  them- 
selves to  under  the  name  of  exercise.  Over- 
strenuosity  at  the  period  of  growth  must  nec- 
essarily lead  to  an  overconsumption  of  energy. 
The  result  is  fatigue,  but  a  fatigue  to  which 
the  mother  nervous  system  contributes  the 
greater  part.  To  make  muscle  exertion  the 
supreme  test  of  exercise  is  to  make  a  fetich  of 
muscle." 

Then,  turning  to  Bolin,  probably  one  of  the 
most  widely  studied  of  the  experts  on  gymnas- 
tics, who,  after  something  like  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  of  it,  concluded  that  setting  up 
gymnasium  exercises  for  the  arms,  legs,  or 
pectoral  muscles  was  not  worth  while.  That 
should  be  a  relief  to  many  a  boy  and  man 
who  would  rather  play  than  do  "monkey 
drill." 

And  Bolin  and  the  others  are  right.  Dis- 
card all  setting-up  work  for  arms  and  legs. 
Get  the  work  for  these  members  in  wholesome 
play.  Let  the  set-up  exercise  be  brief,  con- 
densed to  eight  or  ten  minutes,  and  devoted 
entirely  to  lifting  the  thorax,  suppling  the 
big  muscles  of  the  trunk,  and  gaining  poise 
and  balance.   Had  we  but  done  this  years  ago 


INTRODUCTION  13 

there  would  never  have  been  30  per  cent  of 
rejects. 

WHY  ATHLETIC   SPORTS  ARE   ESSENTIAL 

Never  were  truer  words  put  on  paper  than 
those  in  an  editorial  of  the  government  public 
folder  called  "Personnel,"  published  by  the 
War  Department,  as  follows: 

"But  the  man  is  wanted  always.  His 
strong,  healthy  body  and  alert  brain  are 
assets,  and  with  each  succeeding  day  of  the 
war  those  assets  increase  in  value." 

Now,  with  all  this  in  mind,  and  facing  the 
fact  that  we  were  turning  men  into  service  by 
the  hundred  thousand,  taking  them  out  of 
their  home  environments  and  throwing  them 
into  large  camps,  cantonments,  and  stations,  it 
was  very  manifest  that  the  proposition  was  a 
huge  one,  and  without  definite  plan  and  or- 
ganization there  would  be  the  usual  results 
from  chaotic  conditions,  waste  motion,  and 
what  was  still  worse,  the  loss  through  bad 
supervision  of  quite  a  percentage  of  these  men 
who  had  been  fortunate  enough,  even  in  our 
hit-or-miss  way  of  doing  things,  to  have  the 
physique  and  such  normal  condition  of  health 


14  ATHLETES  ALL 

as  should  enable  them  to  pass  the  draft  exami- 
nations. These  men  were  all  taken  out  of 
their  home  environment,  where  each  had 
looked  forward  at  the  end  of  the  week  to  at 
least  a  half  day's  amusement  and  athletic 
sport.  They  had  their  local  organizations  for 
play.  They  had  relaxation  from  their  work. 
They  had  all  that  goes  to  make  a  sort  of  week- 
end mark  to  be  looked  forward  to,  and  in 
which  to^become  refreshed  for  the  next  week's 
toil.  We  must  with  the  military  training  give 
them  something  of  this  kind  to  duplicate  the 
home  environment,  or  we  should  certainly 
find  these  men  looking  for  interest  and  excite- 
ment in  lines  that  would  result  in  the  rapid 
deterioration  of  their  health  and  condition. 
Their  daily  work  would,  as  we  have  indicated 
above,  take  care  of  the  muscular  development 
of  their  arms  and  legs,  and  would  give  them 
enough  hard  exercise  of  a  kind  to  strengthen 
up  the  heart  muscle,  but  all  work  and  no  play 
makes  Jack  a  very  dull  boy.  We  need  not 
waste  any  time  on  the  development  of  his  mus- 
cular system,  which  would  be  taken  care  of 
with  the  routine  work  that  he  was  doing  in 
drill  and  service.     We  needed  a  standardized 


INTRODUCTION  15 

setting-up  exercise  of  very  short  duration  for 
merely  suppling  purposes,  and  as  indicated 
above,  for  the  improvement  of  the  thorax,  the 
prevention  of  constipation,  and  the  general 
poise  and  balance.  This  was  devised  and  put 
into  a  majority  of  the  service  stations.  Then 
we  needed  play  and  recreation.  With  this 
must  come  the  interest  and  excitement  of  com- 
petition. We  needed  regimental  teams  to  fos- 
ter this.  We  needed  station  teams  to  increase 
it,  because  then  outside  competition  at  week- 
ends and  holidays  would  be  possible.  We  put 
in  athletic  directors  and  began  organized  work. 
We  had  baseball,  football,  track  athletics, 
swimming,  boxing,  cutter  races;  in  fact,  all 
that  went  to  bring  about  this  normality  of 
athletic  play.  The  American  boy  is  not  satis- 
fied to  simply  go  out  into  the  field  and  throw  a 
baseball  around  or  kick  a  football  aimlessly  or 
do  any  of  what  may  ordinarily  be  called  "in- 
formal athletics."  He  needs  a  stimulus  and 
incentive,  because  he  has  been  educated  along 
these  lines.  He  has  been  taught  in  street, 
school,  college,  business — wherever  he  goes — 
what  we  so  familiarly  call  "the  fighting  spirit." 
He  must  measure  his  prowess  against  some- 


16  ATHLETES  ALL 

body  else.  His  team  must  measure  its  prow- 
ess against  some  rival  team.  There  must  be 
some  reward  for  hard  and  faithful  practice. 
There  must  be  some  reward  for  brains  and 
skill.  It  must  spell  VICTORY  for  the  men 
who  have  the  brains  and  skill,  who  have  faith- 
fully practised  and  who  have  the  fighting 
spirit  or  pluck  or  sand — call  it  what  you  will. 
So  we  fostered  all  this.  We  built  upon  the 
foundation  we  had  and  lifted  this  spirit  even 
to  a  higher  plane.  We  went  on  developing 
the  spirit  of  loyalty,  of  team-work,  and  of  un- 
dying courage;  the  kind  that  responds  when 
the  ball  is  on  the  1-yard  line  and  fights  to  the 
limit;  that  comes  back  over  adversity,  disre- 
gards apparent  defeat,  and  possesses  that  opti- 
mism which  believes  that  it  can  still  be  turned 
into  victory.  And  the  result  of  all  this  was 
that  the  foreign  nations  were  simply  astounded 
when  they  found  that  we  could  really  make 
fighters  in  a  real  war  in  a  few  months.  And 
when  they  and  the  Germans  saw  the  stand  at 
Chateau -Thierry  they  were  convinced.  In 
other  words,  we  builded  upon  the  mimic  war- 
fare of  our  playing-fields  and  turned  that 
mimic  warfare  into  the  real  thing.     But  had 


INTRODUCTION  17 

we  not  had  the  numbers  we  should  have  badly 
missed  that  30  per  cent  of  the  unfit  that  had 
to  be  turned  back  before  we  could  start. 
While  appreciating  to  the  full  that  it  was  the 
fighting  spirit  of  our  boys  due  to  our  athletic 
training  in  sports  that  brought  us  through,  we 
should  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  we  ought 
to  follow  up  that  30  per  cent  of  rejects  and 
bring  them  up  to  the  others. 

A   NECESSITY   TO   AMERICANIZATION 

With  the  cessation  of  war,  the  athletic  situa- 
tion throughout  the  country  became  fraught 
with  enormous  interest.  We  had  reports  from 
the  front  which  showed  that  every  country  in 
Europe  was  beginning  to  take  notice  of  the 
wonderful  effect  of  athletic  sports  upon  men 
in  our  service.  So  steadily  had  this  increased 
that  all  sorts  of  demands  were  being  made  for 
assistance  from  the  United  States  in  develop- 
ing similar  sports  abroad  that  they  might  pro- 
duce the  same  kind  of  active  fighting  men. 

Meantime,  developments  followed  each 
other  fast  and  furiously  here.  Every  naval 
station,  every  army  camp  and  cantonment, 
even  aviation  stations  and  submarine  bases 


18  ATHLETES  ALL 

had  during  the  war  taken  on  the  exhilaration 
and  conditioning  features  of  modern  athletics. 
In  the  commandeering  of  the  colleges  and  the 
new  draft,  taking  men  from  eighteen  to  twen- 
ty-one, further  regard  had  to  be  paid  to  the 
athletic  side  of  the  equation.  All  sorts  of 
experiments  were  tried  at  various  colleges  in 
the  last  year  in  the  way  of  informal  athletics, 
but  without  satisfactory  results,  and  whether 
the  future  will  bring  more  intercollegiate  con- 
tests or  not  it  is  certain  that  the  element 
of  competition  will  be  strongly  brought  in. 
"Hit-or-miss'*  athletics,  contests  in  which 
there  is  no  excitement  or  rivalry,  degenerated 
speedily  into  lack-lustre  affairs  belonging  to 
no  one,  and  having  the  detrimental  feature 
of  permitting  men  to  slack,  in  fact  teaching 
them  to  slack.  The  real  thing  that  our  ath- 
letics have  done  to  make  a  nation  fit  for  war 
has  been  largely  to  infuse  the  fighting  spirit 
and  quick  co-ordination  as  well  as  discipline. 
It  is  not  so  much  the  physical  development 
which  we  find  must  be  taken  care  of  in  addi- 
tion, as  the  mental  equipment  in  which  their 
results  have  been  so  marked.  It  is  the  old 
story.     For   twenty-five   years   our   athletes 


INTRODUCTION  19 

have  been  taught  not  to  be  quitters,  to  regard 
the  epithet  of  "yellow'*  as  the  worst  possible 
disgrace,  and  finally  to  subject  themselves  not 
only  to  the  rigorous  training  but  also  to  the 
prompt  response  to  discipline  which  has  been 
characteristic  of  all  our  sports.  All  this  we 
must  continue. 

Perhaps  we  have  specialized  too  much. 
That  is  probably  true,  but  we  have  certainly 
taught  not  only  to  the  individual  contestant 
but  to  the  boy  in  the  bleachers  the  ambition 
and  fighting  spirit  which  make  winners.  In 
further  plans  this  factor  must  not  be  lost 
sight  of. 

Our  athletic  fields  have  been  the  melting- 
pot  for  all  our  various  nationalities  in  the  last 
twenty  years.  Playgrounds  have  been  par- 
ticularly strong  in  this  respect  for  the  last  five 
years,  and  credit  for  the  latter  should  certainly 
be  given  to  the  Playground  and  Recreation 
Association  as  well  as  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and 
other  alhed  organizations. 

We  need  more  Americans.    We  need  every  ^ 
effort  centred  upon  making  us  a  compact  na- 
tion, assimilating  not  only  its  foreign-bom  but 
those  of  foreign  parentage.   The  men  from  the 


20  ATHLETES  ALL 

Turn  Vereins  proved  the  best  qualified  physi- 
cally in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  and  the 
North  American  Gymnastic  Union,  the  suc- 
cessor of  the  old  Turn  Verein,  is  showing  this 
quaUty  in  the  ranks  to-day. 

Men  who  play  together  and  exercise  to- 
gether soon  grow  to  know  and  understand  each 
other,  and  the  farther  this  development  is  car- 
ried the  more  homogeneous  and  physically  pre- 
pared will  be  the  product.  Secretary  Lane 
has  said  the  Russian  disaster  came  from  the 
ignorance  of  the  Russian  people  and  the  fact 
that  so  large  a  percentage  of  them  has  never 
participated  in  the  affairs  of  their  own  country. 

The  popularization  of  physical  education, 
its  introduction  into  the  public  schools  and 
colleges,  the  operation  of  public  playgrounds, 
the  sound  and  simple  method  of  gymnastics 
or  calisthenics,  will  go  far  toward  improving 
our  people  in  bringing  about  more  American- 
ization. 

Every  agency  which  has  possibilities  along 
this  line  should  be  drawn  into  service. 


INTRODUCTION  «1 

THE  ASSET  OP  THE  NATION — HER  YOUTH 

No  greater  opportunity  for  national  service 
had  ever  come  to  men  than  that  offered  by 
the  Students  Army  Training  Corps.  The 
commandants  at  these  colleges  had  the  same 
type  of  men  to  handle  as  those  who  at  the 
declaration  of  war  rushed  from  every  college 
and  university  in  this  country  into  the  service, 
and  who,  according  to  the  testimony  of  offi- 
cers and  departments  ahke,  have  "made 
good."  This  body  of  young  men  was  perhaps 
a  couple  of  years  younger  than  those  who 
went  at  the  call  of  country  but  of  the  same 
stock  and,  in  fact,  helped  out  by  the  addition 
of  some  of  the  best  men  that  otherwise  would 
have  had  no  opportunity  to  go  %o  college. 
The  S.  A.  T.  C.  has  been  mustered  out  of  ser- 
vice, but  many  of  the  boys  themselves  remain. 
So  do  thousands  in  the  schools. 

All  the  experience  already  acquired  through 
the  development  of  the  physical  side,  sports, 
recreation,  and  general  preparation  in  army 
cantonment,  camp,  and  naval  station,  must  be 
brought  in  to  aid  this  situation.  For  this  rea- 
son this  compilation  of  facts  and  suggestions 


£2  ATHLETES  ALL 

has  been  gathered,  made  up  partly  of  experi- 
ence with  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  in 
stations,  and  partly  through  twenty-five  years* 
familiarity  with  college  sports  and  the  develop- 
ment recently  of  these  sports  into  the  making 
of  men  fit  for  service. 
""^  One  of  the  cardinal  features  to  be  borne  in 
mind  is  that  of  leadership.  The  great  demand 
and  the  great  problem  is  to  discover  men  who 
are  not  only  capable  in  other  ways  but  who 
are  able  to  prove  successful  in  recreational 
leadership,  for  a  man  who  is  a  successful  play 
leader  throws  himself  into  the  work  body  and 
soul,  and  this  above  everything  else  has  a  most 
vital  effect  upon  the  general  condition  of  our 
schoolboys  and  college  athletes,  as  it  did  upon 
the  enlisted  men.  In  other  words,  the  enthu- 
siasm, the  discipline,  the  ability  to  get  action 
and  at  the  same  time  to  make  decisions  soon 
render  a  force  far  more  effective  because  full 
of  vitality,  enthusiasm,  and  that  so-called 
*'pep  and  ginger*'  which  is  contagious. 

Primarily  it  should  be  remembered  that  this, 
war  has  taught  us  that  all  the  art,  literature, 
and  education  of  the  country  may  be  at  the 
mercy  of  a  savage  people  unless  the  nation  has 


INTRODUCTION  23 

enough  real  men  who  are  ready  to  fight  to  pre- 
serve the  things  that  a  people  value.  It  is 
therefore  necessary  that  a  nation  should  be 
made  up  of  people  who  individually  possess 
clean,  strong  bodies  and  pure  minds,  who  have 
a  respect  for  their  own  rights  and  the  rights 
of  others,  and  in  addition  possess  the  courage, 
strength,  and  discipline  to  redress  wrongs. 
The  true  leader  and  the  real  sportsman  pos- 
sesses a  chivalry  that  protects  the  weak  and 
preserves  veneration  and  love  for  parents  and 
country,  and  believes  in  the  physical  strength 
necessary  to  make  that  chivalry  effective. 
This  is  what  the  service  of  this  country  has 
taught.  We  have  made  the  boys  of  this  coun- 
try realize  that  manual  labor  which  they  pos- 
sibly have  known  only  in  sport,  but  which  they 
then  learned  in  the  service,  has  a  dignity  of 
its  own;  that  discipline  is  one  of  the  essential 
features  for  rounding  out  a  man  in  order  that 
he  shall  become  an  asset  to  his  country.  We 
have  learned  that  sports  and  a  consciousness 
of  courage  and  strength  used  for  fair  play  are 
cardinal  factors  in  this  development. 

With  all  this  we  realize  fully  that  the  mere 
manual  of   arms   and   evolutions   become   a 


24  ATHLETES  ALL 

pretty  dreary  routine  after  a  few  months;  that 
unless  youth  has  relaxation  in  the  form  of  sport 
and  recreation  he  either  breaks  down  or  breaks 
loose,  with  disastrous  results.  For  this  rea- 
son leaders  should  be  developed  to  understand 
how  to  make  boys  play.  The  modern  boy  is 
past  the  old  stage-coach  days,  and  he  does  not 
care  for  "hit-or-miss"  athletics.  He  wishes 
to  do  something  that  has  an  organized  side  to 
it,  and  which  puts  some  premium  upon  skill 
and  brains.  He  may  temporarily  put  up  with 
minor  things,  but  in  the  long  run  his  sports 
have  to  have  something  of  those  higher  quali- 
ties. In  order  to  help  leaders  in  this  way  not 
only  are  the  smaller  games  described  in  brief, 
but  general  methods  of  coaching,  in  the  hope 
that  it  will  prove  of  service  to  coaches  who 
perhaps  in  the  last  year  or  two  have  become 
somewhat  rusty,  as  well  as  to  all  boys  who  are 
looking  forward  from  their  school  days  to 
something  that  the  country  demands;  namely, 
that  physical  fitness  and  preparation  that 
makes  a  youth  a  real  asset  to  the  fighting 
strength  of  his  generation. 


INTRODUCTION  25 

DEVELOPMENT   OF  SPORT 

Perhaps  we  shall  get  a  better  perspective  of 
the  situation  if  we  go  back  and  study  a  little 
the  history  of  the  development  of  sport  and 
what  our  beginnings  were  and  how  we  have 
developed  from  informal  games  to  the  organ- 
ized ones. 

There  were  certain  outdoor  sports  which 
have  always  been  practised  as  long  as  boys 
were  boys  and  nature  provided  facilities,  such 
as  skating,  sliding  down-hill,  and  the  like.  We 
go  back  previous  to  1850.  Here  the  writer 
has  had  an  opportunity,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
soon  after  graduating  from  college  he  wrote  to 
many  men  who  were  then  well  along  in  years 
to  learn  what  the  games  of  their  youth  had 
been.  The  earliest  and  most  common  sport 
of  boys  that  took  on  the  nature  of  a  game 
was  unquestionably  "doing  stunts,"  or  rather 
"stumps,"  as  they  called  it  in  those  early 
days.  From  1840  to  1850,  we  must  remem- 
ber, was  the  day  of  the  omnibus  and  stage- 
coach and,  even  in  large  towns,  of  the  town 
crier.  The  games  that  prevailed  then  among 
the  boys  were  *'I  spy";  "follow  the  leader" 


£6  ATHLETES  ALL 

— a  development  from  doing  stmits;  "punk," 
a  game  wherein  one  boy  among  a  group  would 
be  given  a  ball,  and  he  was  privileged  to 
"plug"  or  "punk"  any  other  boy  with  the 
ball.  Immediately  upon  his  throwing  it  there 
ensued  a  scramble,  and  the  boy  who  succeeded 
in  getting  the  ball  was  then  privileged  to 
"plug"  or  "punk"  another.  Swings  were 
then  common,  and  almost  every  yard  had  a 
swing  for  the  younger  children.  All  commons 
or  parks  had  these  swings  and  also  what  was 
called  a  "fandango,"  which  had  a  swinging 
seat  similar  to  the  modern  Ferris  wheel. 
Some  of  these  were  40  to  50  feet  in  height. 
The  general  sports  of  the  street  were  noisy 
ones  and  mischievous  ones.  The  noisy  ones 
consisted  of  swinging  what  was  known  as  a 
locust.  This  was  a  round  tin  box  with  kid 
stretched  over  one  end,  a  horsehair  threaded 
through  this  end,  this  horsehair  well  rosined 
and  then  tied  to  a  stick.  Swinging  this 
around  made  a  fiendish  noise  like  the  locust, 
from  which  its  name  was  derived.  Bean 
blowers  or  putty  blowers  were  the  great  thing, 
and  were  used  on  laborers,  drivers,  and  the 
like.    Then  there  were  bow  guns  which  shot 


INTRODUCTION  27 

buckshot  or,  on  necessity,  screws,  and  were 
used  not  only  in  killing  cats  but  to  irritate 
and  sting  men  and  boys.  Holiday  afternoons 
were  usually  marked  by  trouble  of  this  kind, 
as  well  as  stone  fights,  where  bricks  and  stones 
were  thrown.  Seacoast  towns  also  made  use 
of  oyster  shells  for  this  purpose.  There  were 
also  marbles,  kite-flying,  walking  on  stilts,  peg- 
top,  and,  naturally,  swimming  and  sailing,  as 
well  as  rowing.  It  was  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fifties  that  development  along  more  organ- 
ized lines  was  beginning  to  be  felt.  " Tip-cat" 
was  giving  place  to  "rounders**  or  "one  old 
cat."  The  single  sled  was  being  doubled  up 
and  made  into  a  double  runner.  Rowing  was 
taking  on  definite  lines. 

"One  old  cat**  had  developed  into  "two 
old  cat,'*  and  speedily  into  what  boys  knew  in 
those  days  as  "one,  two,  three*';  that  is,  a 
game  where  the  fielders  move  up  to  become 
batsmen.  Then  came  more  organized  base- 
ball— the  "Massachusetts'*  game  and  the 
"New  York'*  game.  Developments  were 
rapid  just  after  the  Civil  War,  and  baseball 
became  the  recognized  and  fully  developed 
pastime  with  definite  contests  wherein  skill 


28  ATHLETES  ALL 

counted;  nines  made  tours  of  the  country; 
rowing,  which  had  been  taken  up  at  the  col- 
leges, developed  also  along  some  lines  of  com- 
petition. Football  of  a  rather  mongrel  kind, 
developing  from  soccer  football,  came  into 
vogue,  and  track  athletics  as  a  side-show  to 
the  intercollegiate  boat-race  and  the  baseball 
game  made  almost  a  three-ringed  circus  at  the 
end  of  the  summer  term.  These  were  the  be- 
ginnings and  the  developments,  and  just  as 
the  material  advances  in  inventions  altered 
our  daily  lives,  so  did  sport  become  a  recog- 
nized part  of  them  and  speedily  took  its  place. 
When  any  country  or  people  has  developed  in 
this  fashion,  they  have  never  been  known  to 
go  back.  Perhaps  the  days  of  the  stage-coach 
were  better  and  more  quiet  than  the  days  of 
the  motor-car  and  the  telephone.  Perhaps 
when  the  flying-machine  becomes  a  means  of 
transport  our  lives  will  be  still  more  crowded 
and  hurried,  but  at  any  rate  history  has  shown 
that  people  do  not  give  up  these  things,  nor  do 
boys,  youth,  and  men  themselves  give  up  or- 
ganized sport  after  it  has  once  come  in.  In 
fact,  as  Professor  Richards  showed  many 
years    ago,    organized    sport    has    produced 


INTRODUCTION  29 

greater  order  in  schools  and  colleges.  It  has 
taken  the  place  of  the  town  and  gown  riot 
and  the  thousand  and  one  mischievous  pranks 
played  before  the  days  when  these  organized 
sports  had  such  a  hold.  It  is  therefore  prob- 
able that  our  major  sports  will  continue  and 
it  is  possible  that  other  sports  developing  to 
a  higher  plane  wiU  become  major  sports.  It 
is  highly  improbable  that  we  shall  go  back, 
abandon  the  sports  where  organization,  train- 
ing, and  skill  count,  and  take  up  once  more 
the  informal  sports  of  the  early  days.  We 
shall,  however,  endeavor  to  spread  not  only 
these  major  sports  but  the  development  of 
simpler  games  for  the  odd  occasions.  Such  of 
these  as  lend  themselves  to  what  has  come  to 
be  known  now  as  "mass  athletics"  deserve 
further  development.  It  is  well  worth  while 
to  give  a  thousand  men  exercise  and  pleasure 
with  some  measure  of  competition  in  a  leisure 
hour.  The  fiu'ther  these  are  developed  into 
contests  where  skill  and  invention  count,  the 
greater  will  be  their  chance  of  continued  life. 
I  am  giving,  therefore,  in  this  book  those  that 
have  proven  of  interest,  and  several  of  these 
will  admit  of  further  development. 


II 

HEALTH  AND  SPORTSMANSHIP 


CHAPTER  I 
CARE  OF  THE   BODY 

The  care  of  the  body  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant features  not  only  for  the  development 
of  the  athlete  but  also  for  the  preservation  of 
the  general  health  and  condition.  Naturally, 
boys  up  to  twenty-one  do  not  as  a  rule  have 
to  think  so  largely  in  terms  of  general  health 
as  do  the  men  who  later  on  have  forced  their 
energies  into  business  careers  involving  seden- 
tary lives.  But  the  same  preparation  that 
the  boy  gives  to  his  athletics  promises  a  capi- 
tal start  for  his  preservation  of  health  in  later 
years. 

Parents  and  faculties  should  therefore  sym- 
pathize with  the  training  for  athletics  along 
these  lines. 

There  are  three  elements  that  in  addition  to 
exercise  co-operate  most  strongly  toward  mak- 
ing the  boy  or  man  fit,  and  those  are  fresh  air, 
water,  and  sunshine.  Out-of-doors  as  much 
as  possible,  outdoor  athletics  in  preference 
to  indoor  athletics,  open  windows,  especially 

33 


84  ATHLETES  ALL 

in  sleeping-rooms  or,  better  still,  sleeping- 
porches,  will  give  a  boy  fresh  air  and  sunshine. 
As  to  water,  it  should  be  used  freely  internally 
and  externally.  Every  boy's  day  should  begin 
with  a  cold  bath  and  rubdown,  the  careful 
brushing  and  cleaning  of  the  teeth,  for  upon 
the  preservation  of  these  depend  his  future 
fitness  not  only  for  athletics  but  for  military 
service,  and  the  teeth  should  be  cleaned  after 
every  meal.  A  moderate  form  of  modern 
set-up  exercise  should  be  used  once  a  day,  de- 
voted not  to  tiring  a  boy  out  or  in  any  way 
detracting  from  his  enjoyment  of  his  sport 
later,  but  to  stretch  and  supple  the  muscles 
and  to  bring  about  an  erect  carriage.  This 
will  be  dealt  with  in  special  detail,  and  the 
best  form,  as  proved  by  the  use  of  nearly 
three-quarters  of  a  million  men,  will  be  given 
specifically  in  the  second  volume  of  this  series. 
Breakfast  should  be  a  good  meal,  not  taken 
in  gulps  on  the  rush  to  prayers  or  recitation — 
a  reasonable  amount  of  time  should  be  devoted 
to  it.  As  soon  as  the  boy  finishes  his  rubdown 
in  the  morning,  and  before  dressing,  he  should 
drink  two  glasses  of  water,  not  iced,  but  of  the 
temperature  of  the  room.     It  is  as  well  to  have 


CARE  OF  THE  BODY  35 

an  hour  elapse  after  breakfast  before  taking 
up  play  and  games  that  require  vigorous  exer- 
cise, but  the  average  boy  can  take  moderate 
exercise  pretty  soon  after  breakfast. 

Studies  usually  occupy  most  of  the  morning. 
The  boy  should  drink  another  glass  of  water 
before  luncheon  and  avoid  drinking  very  much 
with  meals.  If  he  takes  seven  or  eight  glasses 
of  water  a  day  (and  none  of  these  should  be 
taken  immediately  after  exercise,  but  when 
he  has  cooled  down)  he  will  not  have  that  de- 
sire to  drink  with  his  meals  which  often  leads 
to  getting  too  httle  nutriment  on  account  of 
the  contending  thirst.  Every  boy  should  be 
particularly  careful  to  have  shoes  that  fit  him, 
as  the  care  of  the  feet  is  very  important  and 
really  means  the  well-being  of  the  athlete  in 
any  of  his  sports.  Tight  shoes,  or  shoes  that 
do  not  fit,  breed  trouble  afterward.  Blisters 
should  be  taken  care  of  at  once.  Particular 
attention  should  be  paid  to  any  abrasion  of 
the  feet. 

It  is  not  advisable  to  dress  too  warmly 
when  exercising.  The  time  when  care  should 
be  taken  is  immediately  after  exercising.  A 
healthy  boy  can  stand  almost  any  amount  of 


36  ATHLETES  ALL 

cold  while  he  is  in  action,  but  it  is  softening 
and  weakening  to  wear  too  heavy  clothing 
when  exercising.  A  reasonable  time,  at  least 
half  an  hour,  should  elapse  after  exercising 
and  a  rubdown  before  eating,  and  a  boy  should 
not  eat  when  he  is  exhausted  or  tired,  resting 
for  a  certain  period  to  prevent  this. 

The  last  part  of  the  evening  before  retiring, 
or  at  least  half  an  hour,  should  be  a  period  of 
relaxation;  that  is,  the  study  book  should  be 
closed  and  an  interesting  story  read  or  the 
Victrola  started,  or  something  of  this  kind,  as 
it  is  inadvisable  for  a  boy  to  go  to  bed  with 
the  brain  stimulated  by  intense  study  or  the 
working  out  of  problems,  which  usually  means 
restlessness  for  the  early  part  of  the  night. 

Late  suppers  are,  of  course,  absolutely  taboo 
for  the  athlete,  as  is  also  tobacco  and  alcohol. 

Tight  collars,  muffling  up  the  throat  and 
making  it  sensitive — anything,  in  fact,  that 
impedes  the  circulation  or  tends  to  make  ten- 
der any  part  of  the  external  skin  should  be 
carefully  avoided.  Clean  socks,  clean  under- 
wear, and  in  general  a  belief  that  the  body  is 
worth  taking  the  greatest  care  of  should  be 
the  creed  of  the  athlete. 


Regulation  baseball  in  city  park. 


Improvising  play. 
BOYS  IN  THE  CITY. 


CHAPTER  II 
GENERAL  HYGIENE 

In  the  department  of  the  care  of  the  normal 
body  we  have  already  touched  upon  the  mat- 
ter of  personal  cleanliness,  the  advantage  of 
cold  baths,  fresh  air,  and  the  like.  One  more 
word  on  the  care  of  the  teeth.  The  ordinary 
youth  may  think  that  in  brushing  his  teeth  he 
is  merely  conforming  to  a  social  usage,  but  he 
is  doing  much  more.  He  is  a  small  engine  and 
is  dependent  upon  the  quality  and  condition 
of  the  fuel,  and  what  he  eats  and  drinks  is  that 
fuel.  If  he  contaminates  it  by  not  taking 
perfect  care  of  his  teeth,  that  fuel  will  not  be 
as  effective  and  may  prove  the  cause  of  a 
condition  that  will  prevent  his  doing  his  best 
work.  Particularly  after  each  meal  and  upon 
going  to  bed  at  night  and  rising  in  the  morn- 
ing the  teeth  should  be  brushed.  It  is  well 
not  to  use  tooth-powder  on  them  oftener  than 
once  a  day. 

And  one  suggestion  more  before  we  go  on 
to  the  subject  of  food.     Wet  clothes  and  wet 

37 


38  ATHLETES  ALL 

shoes  have  never  yet  harmed  any  man  who 
was  in  good  physical  condition  so  long  as  he 
was  exercising  and  keeping  his  blood  in  circu- 
lation by  that  exercise.  But  to  sit  in  wet 
clothes  and  wet  shoes  and  stockings  and  to 
cool  off  after  exercising  has  harmed  many  a 
man  and  many  a  boy.  It  is  not  the  getting 
wet,  but  it  is  the  getting  chilled  in  these  con- 
ditions, that  does  the  harm.  Every  young 
man  should  remember  this  and  keep  warm  and 
keep  the  blood  in  circulation  until  the  oppor- 
tunity comes  to  change.  Don't  stop,  but 
keep  in  motion  until  you  can  get  off  the  wet 
clothing,  for  it  is  a  regard  for  that  caution  that 
will  keep  you  well. 

Now,  as  to  food.  Nature  has  provided  the 
ordinarily  healthy  youth  with  a  good  diges- 
tion, and  she  will  stand  sponsor  for  him  as 
long  as  he  does  not  go  contrary  to  her  laws. 
A  young  man  who  rushes  through  his  meal 
will  probably  be  immune  from  difficulties  for 
a  considerable  period  of  time,  but  sooner  or 
later,  having  called  upon  nature  to  do  her 
work  in  a  way  which  she  dislikes,  she  will 
make  him  pay  for  it.  Nature  never  meant 
him  to  bolt  his  food,  but  to  take  his  time 


GENERAL  HYGIENE  39 

about  it  and  enjoy  it;  and  let  it  be  clearly 
understood  that  upon  his  digestion  depends 
the  success  or  failure  of  the  athlete.  Nature 
has  not  endowed  the  boy  with  a  love  of  sweets 
without  reason.  But  she  never  meant  him  to 
live  on  candy  or  pastry.  She  meant  him  to 
get  the  most  of  his  nutrition  in  good  solid  food, 
and  just  as  soon  as  he  makes  sweets  take  the 
place  of  solid  food  he  is  storing  up  trouble  for 
himself  to  a  moral  certainty. 

First,  then,  let  him  remember  that  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes  taken  off  that  last  bit  of  sleep 
in  the  morning  will  be  well  worth  while  if  he 
adds  it  on  to  his  breakfast- time,  and,  as  to 
sweets,  let  him  remember  to  make  the  propor- 
tion of  these  small. 

One  other  thing  he  should  bear  in  mind  is 
that  nature  did  not  mean  him  to  take  a 
mouthful  of  food  and  then  a  drink  and  so  on. 
But  it  is  very  easy  to  get  in  the  habit  of  doing 
this,  and  then  it  seems  to  the  youth  that  na- 
ture craves  that  flooding  of  the  meal  with  con- 
stant drinking  of  liquid.  As  suggested  earlier, 
he  will  find  that  that  desire  disappears  after 
a  time  of  self-sacrifice,  particularly  if  he  will 
take  a  good  drink  of  cool,  fresh  water  imme- 


40  ATHLETES  ALL 

diately  after  his  bath  in  the  morning  and  just 
before  retiring  at  night.  Nor  should  those 
drinks  be  ice-water.  Water  the  temperature 
of  the  room  in  which  he  sleeps  is  always  cold 
enough.  And  plain  fresh  water  is  the  only 
drink  that  should  be  taken  in  any  other  way 
than  a  swallow  or  two  at  a  time. 

As  to  sleep,  the  average  boy  at  school  or 
even  the  youth  at  college  does  not  get  enough. 
When  he  is  growing  and  building  up  bone  and 
muscle,  nature  demands  long  hours  of  sleep. 
Nine  hours  is  Httle  enough  for  a  boy  to  take, 
especially  if  he  is  growing  fast. 

Some  men  can  get  on  with  less,  but  it  is  not 
worth  while  to  cut  that  limit  down  if  it  can 
be  secured.  More  than  that,  it  is  always  bet- 
ter to  take  it  from  ten  to  seven  or  from  quar- 
ter of  ten  to  quarter  of  seven  than  it  is  to 
take  it  from  twelve  to  nine,  vacation  notwith- 
standing. And  a  man  should  always  fill  his 
lungs  with  good  fresh  air  several  times  before 
turning  in  and  immediately  upon  jumping  up 
in  the  morning.  All  animals  stretch  and 
yawn,  and  the  human  animal  can  afford  to 
do  some  of  that  stretching  when  he  turns  out 
of  his  bed  in  the  morning.     Later  in  this  book 


Regulation  baseball  in  the  woods. 


mm. 

Ufa 

l-*;?^ 

*> 

^'^■fd'^ 

[>*^»^ 

^^£^^[^■1 

r?*^*-^ 

^w:^ 

!r     •-^.'^^ 

ga^ia|K 

/'IE 

It'sn' 

-W   ;, 

1«     11 

...  r\ 

-  ^o.-'V 

HJi^r' 

," 

i 
1 

Improvised  play. 
BOYS  IN  THE  COUNTRY. 


GENERAL  HYGIENE  41 

we  will  give  some  of  these  simple  stretching 
exercises  that  have  been  used  with  great  ad- 
vantage in  the  service  stations. 

A  youth  finds  that  there  is  one  thing  which 
he  needs  in  baseball,  football,  golf,  tennis, 
and  almost  all  the  sports,  and  that  is  what 
his  coach  would  call  "a  good  eye."  I  have 
known  a  fielder  on  a  Varsity  nine  who  had 
formerly  made  a  good  record  to  make  occa- 
sional errors  in  judgment  of  flies,  and  upon 
taking  him  to  an  ocuHst  found  that  those 
errors  were  simply  an  indication  of  a  defect  in 
his  eyesight.  It  is  worth  while  in  athletics, 
to  say  nothing  of  other  pursuits,  therefore,  to 
take  care  of  those  eyes  and  see  that  they  are 
not  abused.  A  boy  may  manage  sometimes 
to  read  or  write  and  get  along,  even  though  he 
is  abusing  his  eyes,  and  very  likely  the  first 
indication  of  trouble  may  come  in  his  athletics. 
The  eye  is  a  very  kind  friend  and  will  stand  a 
great  deal  of  work  if  that  work  is  done  under 
proper  conditions.  Get  a  good  light  to  study 
or  read  by,  and  wherever  there  is  a  possibility 
of  choice,  make  it  dayhght.  Don't  tire  your 
eyes,  or  continue  to  use  them  when  they  feel 
tired,  but  give  them  a  few  minutes'  rest  now 


42  ATHLETES  ALL 

and  then  and  begin  over  again.  It  will  pay  in 
the  long  run.  The  slightest  difficulty  in  vision 
or  any  trouble  with  headaches  should  send  a 
youth  to  an  oculist  at  once  for  examination, 
in  order  to  correct  the  trouble  early.  Men 
do  take  part  in  various  forms  of  athletics 
with  deficient  eyesight,  but  it  is  a  distinct 
handicap. 


CHAPTER  in 

PLUCK 

Pluck  is  one  of  the  greatest  elements  in  ath- 
letics to-day  and  the  one  par  excellence  that  in 
the  long  run  determines  the  winner,  whether  in 
sports  or  in  the  greater  game  of  service,  as 
well  as  in  the  struggle  for  success  in  life  that 
must  come  to  every  man.  And  in  this  con- 
nection I  wish  to  relate  one  of  my  earhest  ex- 
periences in  athletics.  At  that  time  track 
athletics  had  not  become  as  prominent  as  it 
has  of  late  years,  and  it  was  rather  difficult  to 
get  a  large  number  of  entries.  Consequently 
the  management  came  to  those  of  us  who  were 
football  and  baseball  players  and  were  busy 
with  our  practice,  and  urged  us  to  enter  the 
track  games.  As  I  was  in  excellent  condition 
from  other  athletics  I  was  not  averse  to  try- 
ing this,  and  entered  in  the  quarter-mile  and 
the  high  hurdle.  I  had  about  two  weeks  in 
which  to  prepare  and  naturally  spent  most  of 
it  in  work  over  the  hurdles.    Quarter-milers 

48 


44  ATHLETES  ALL 

will  be  amused  and  interested  in  the  fact  that 
I  did  not  view  the  440-yard  race  as  one  that 
would  particularly  exhaust  me,  thinking  that 
my  football  and  baseball  training  had  made 
me  quite  able  to  stand  it.  I  was  very  much 
interested,  however,  in  the  distance  apart  that 
these  two  races  should  be  placed  on  the  pro- 
gramme and  made  inquiries  accordingly.  I 
was  assured  that  the  quarter-mile  would  come 
very  early  and  the  hurdle  very  late  in  the 
games. 

At  that  time  we  were  having  our  football 
practice  about  3.30  or  4  in  the  afternoon,  and 
we  were  having  luncheon  at  1  o'clock.  I  was 
not  eating  a  light  luncheon  either.  I  did  not 
realize  this  in  my  youth  and  inexperience, 
and  while  we  had  a  trainer  we  did  not  have 
the  benefit  of  his  constant  advice  in  matters, 
as  the  boys  do  to-day.  Hence,  I  ate  heartily 
at  luncheon  at  1  o'clock  and  went  directly  to 
the  field  and  had  hardly  time  to  get  into  my 
clothes  and  running-shoes  when  it  was  time 
to  start  for  the  440.  There  were  six  of  us 
entered,  and  three  of  us  soon  pulled  away 
from  the  others.  In  those  days  we  did  not 
have  a  220-yard  straightaway,  but  started  on 


PLUCK  45 

the  back-stretch  of  the  track  and  ran  on  up 
around  the  upper  curve  and  down  to  the  fin- 
ish. When  we  were  going  the  last  of  the 
upper  curve  the  leader  was  about  two  yards 
ahead  of  the  second  man,  and  I  was  on  the 
shoulder  of  the  second  man,  endeavoring  to 
pass  him.  He  was  holding  on,  however,  and 
I  was  finding  difficulty  in  getting  by  him. 
But  as  we  entered  the  start  for  home  he  wab- 
bled and  fell  across  in  front  of  me,  so  that  I 
stumbled  and  nearly  went  over  him,  and  as  I 
gathered  myself  I  thoroughly  realized  that  440 
yards  run  at  full  speed  is  a  long  distance,  even 
for  a  hardened  football  or  baseball  man.  I 
finished  second,  but  owing  to  my  late  lunch- 
eon and  the  partial  tumble  I  felt  very  ill  and 
certainly  had  no  desire  to  enter  any  more 
races  that  afternoon.  However,  I  realized 
that  I  was  pledged  to  go  into  the  hurdles,  but 
desperately  hoped  that  it  would  be  very  late 
in  the  afternoon  before  it  was  called.  I  was 
sitting  on  the  porch  of  the  house  where  we 
dressed,  with  my  head  in  my  hands,  feeling 
pretty  sick,  when  an  upper  classman  with 
whom  I  had  merely  a  speaking  acquaintance 
came  up  and,  patting  me  on  the  back,  com- 


46  ATHLETES  ALL 

menced  to  encourage  me  and  told  me  how 
well  I  had  done  for  a  first  try  and  wished  me 
every  success  in  the  hurdles.  Under  his  en- 
couraging words  I  really  began  to  feel  quite  a 
bit  better,  but  just  then  the  starter  came  over 
and  called  the  men  to  the  marks  for  the  hur- 
dles. It  was  not  at  all  in  accordance  with 
what  I  had  expected,  and  for  a  moment  I  felt 
very  much  like  quitting  then  and  there.  My 
friend  urged  me,  however,  to  go  on,  and  I 
went  out  to  the  start  feeling  very  wabbly. 
There  were  some  five  entries,  but  there  was 
only  one  man  who  was  really  prominent  in 
this  event,  and  he  was  also  a  high  jumper.  I 
had  played  more  or  less  football  with  him  and 
knew  that  I  could  beat  him  on  the  flat,  but 
that  his  style  and  form  would  be  much  better 
than  mine  and  the  chances  were  that  he  would 
more  than  make  up  in  getting  over  the  hur- 
dles what  I  could  gain  on  him  on  the  level. 
However,  while  these  things  were  going 
through  my  head,  we  were  getting  on  our 
marks,  and  presently  the  pistol  cracked  and 
we  were  off.  This  man  led  me  all  the  way 
from  the  first  hurdle.  I  would  gain  a  little 
between  hurdles  but  lose  it  on  the  jumps, 


PLUCK  47 

and  by  the  time  we  reached  the  eighth  hur- 
dle I  was  feeling  pretty  miserable  and  about 
ready  to  let  him  have  the  race  when  I  heard 
my  upper-class  friend  from  the  crowd  on  the 
side  of  the  track  yelling:  *'Go  on — ^youVe  got 
him  !'*  Again,  with  renewed  courage,  I  felt  a 
determination  to  win  come  over  me.  My 
rival  cleared  the  last  hurdle  more  than  half 
a  stride  in  advance  of  me,  but  I  succeeded  in 
beating  him  out  on  the  flat  to  the  tape,  a 
thing  which  I  never  should  have  done  had  it 
not  been  for  the  encouragement. 

Now  I  tell  this  little  episode  to  show  what 
an  effect  on  the  result  an  element  of  confi- 
dence or  determination,  or  whatever  you 
please  to  call  it — pluck,  if  you  like — ^has  upon 
the  contestant.  It  is  equally  true  in  the  great 
game  of  war,  as  our  marines  showed  when 
decimated  at  Chateau-Thierry.  I  thought 
this  thing  over  a  great  deal  in  my  next  year 
of  athletics,  and  realized  fully  that  there  was 
something  that  came  into  me  through  that 
encouragement  which  enabled  me  to  make 
the  necessary  extra  effort  in  order  to  win,  and 
studying  over  it,  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  that  quality  certainly  had  been  in  me. 


48  ATHLETES  ALL 

but  would  not  have  been  roused  to  action 
had  it  not  been  for  the  friend  outside.  I 
therefore  argued  that,  if  that  were  the  case 
and  every  man  had  that  quaHty  in  him  some- 
where, only  latent,  if  a  man  could  bring  it  out 
either  in  himself  or  in  his  team  he  could  have 
a  double  chance  of  victory.  I  have  used  this 
theory  many  times  since  in  coaching. 

Now  when  you  get  in  a  race  or  in  a  contest 
of  any  kind  or  in  a  severe  struggle  in  the  ser- 
vice of  your  country,  you  must  remember 
that  a  point  comes  when  every  one  is  tired 
and  when  it  is  only  those  who  have  this  pluck, 
endurance,  or  some  element  within  them 
which  enables  them  to  temporarily  throw  oflf 
the  fatigue  and  depression  that  eventually 
win.  In  looking  forward  each  youth  should 
bear  this  in  mind  and  determine  that  so  far 
as  in  him  Hes  he  will  exhibit  that  quality 
which,  once  acquired,  I  promise  you,  is  help- 
ful not  only  in  school  but  in  college  and  in 
later  life. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ENERGY  AND  PERSISTENCE 

Pluck  is  a  great  asset  for  the  would-be 
athlete  or  the  man  in  service.  There  is  an- 
other quality  which  in  many  cases  is  equally 
necessary  and  in  some  cases,  namely,  that  of  a 
youth  who  has  to  build  up  from  a  frail  phy- 
sique, an  absolute  essential.  That  quality  is 
Persistence.  At  a  recent  gathering  of  the 
candidates  of  the  track  team  in  one  of  our 
large  universities  where  there  were  some  three 
or  four  hundred  men  present  the  story  was 
told  of  a  small,  insignificant  chap,  weighing 
only  between  90  and  100  pounds,  who  came 
out  as  freshman  and  ran  for  three  years  be- 
fore making  good,  but  eventually  proved  one 
of  the  best  distance  runners  in  the  colleges. 
Nor  is  this  in  any  way  an  isolated  case.  The 
writer  remembers  very  vividly  a  man  who 
came  out  for  quarter  on  the  football  team 
who  was  so  insignificant  as  to  be  practically 
despised  for  the  first  two  years;  the  third  year 

49 


50  ATHLETES  ALL 

it  was  impossible  not  to  take  notice  of  him, 
for,  although  playing  on  the  scrub,  he  made 
the  'varsity  more  trouble  than  anybody  else 
on  the  field;  and  toward  the  latter  part  of  his 
third  year  he  got  a  chance  on  the  'varsity. 
From  that  time  on  he  held  the  place,  and  in 
his  senior  year  was  one  of  the  best  quarter- 
backs that  the  'varsity  had  had.  Now  both 
these  men  were  compelled  to  work  and  wait. 
Success  looked  indeed  far  off  to  each  at  the 
end  of  the  first  year  of  struggle,  and  probably 
by  the  middle  of  the  second  year  the  ordinary 
man  would  have  abandoned  the  undertaking 
in  discouragement,  but  each  stuck  to  his  task 
and  never  gave  up,  never  lost  confidence, 
never  lost  hope,  until  in  the  end  the  result 
was  achieved.  Now  this  is  what  we  might 
call  long-time  persistence.  Persistence  of  a 
different  character  is  equally  essential  in 
every  athlete.  It  is  the  willingness  to  try 
over  and  over  again  any  play  in  order  to  see 
where  one's  weakness  lies  and  eventually  to 
correct  that  weakness.  It  is  perseverance  and 
persistence  combined.  Yet  a  man  may  go  on 
trying  a  thing  over  and  over  again  day  after 
day  and  make  little  progress  if  he  is  not  will- 


ENERGY  AND  PERSISTENCE  51 

ing  at  the  same  time  to  concentrate  his  atten- 
tion. He  must  find  out  where  the  mistake  is 
and  how  to  correct  it,  and  then  force  himself 
to  make  the  effort  repeatedly  until  it  becomes 
natural  for  him  to  do  it  in  the  right  way.  I 
remember  once  seeing  a  man  in  a  shell  who 
was  being  coached  vigorously  by  the  head- 
crew  coach.  This  would-be  candidate  was 
one  of  those  men  who  find  it  almost  impossible 
to  concentrate  their  attention  or  to  fully  con- 
trol their  muscles  for  any  length  of  time. 
Temporarily,  he  would  row  well,  as  long  as  he 
kept  his  mind  absolutely  on  his  hands,  his 
back,  his  shde,  and  the  various  other  parts 
that  went  to  make  the  proper  stroke.  But 
after  an  effort  of  a  few  minutes  he  seemed  to 
be  too  lazy  to  hold  on  to  what  he  had  learned, 
and  would  go  all  to  pieces  again.  The  coach 
who  had  thus  succeeded  in  getting  him 
straightened  up  and  rowing  well  was  coaching 
another  man  in  the  boat  when  he  suddenly 
turned  back  to  this  unfortunate  Number  3 
and  called  out:  "What  are  you  doing.  Num- 
ber 3?  Did  you  know  you  were  in  a  boat.'* 
You  look  to  me  as  though  you  were  an  old 
woman  in  a  rocking-chair."     Now  this  was 


52  ATHLETES  ALL 

perfectly  true  and  just  and  the  man  deserved 
it,  because  he  could  row  if  he  kept  persistently 
at  it  and  perseveringly  concentrated  his  atten- 
tion on  each  part  of  his  work  all  the  time  that 
he  was  in  the  boat.  I  have  given  instances 
of  track  athletics,  football,  and  rowing,,  all 
from  real  life.  I  could  give  a  hundred  in 
baseball,  both  professional  and  amateur. 

The  value  of  persistency  in  an  aggregation 
of  men  rather  than  in  an  individual  has  been 
often  demonstrated  in  baseball.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  contest  some  years  ago  between 
the  Chicago  Cubs  and  the  White  Sox.  After 
a  couple  of  tie  games  the  Cubs  won  three 
straight.  Now  surely  here  was  a  case  where 
all  possible  odds  were  against  the  White 
Sox.  The  score  stood  3  to  0  against  them. 
The  Cubs  had  but  to  win  one  more  game  and 
the  series  would  be  over.  Then  the  White 
Sox  went  to  work  and  persistently,  persever- 
ingly fought  the  issue  out  until  the  games 
stood  three  apiece,  and  then  having  tied  the 
series,  won  out  in  a  blaze  of  glory  with  a  tre- 
mendous victory  for  the  final. 

So  I  would  say  to  every  one  who  reads  this 
book,  look  these  things  over.     Note  how  the 


ENERGY  AND  PERSISTENCE  58 

successful  man  or  the  successful  team  or  the 
successful  regiment  has  always  those  two  ele- 
ments of  pluck  and  persistence.  Learn  what 
it  means  to  you  at  the  beginning  of  your 
career  to  conquer  discouragement,  to  plod 
ever  on  with  confidence  that  it  is  only  a  ques- 
tion of  time  and  that  you  must  in  the  end 
succeed.  Then  and  then  only  will  come  the 
rewards.  The  man  who  has  won  his  way 
never  has  the  dangers  of  the  downfall  which 
are  ever  present  to  the  brilliant  but  erratic 
man  whose  natural  talents  are  great  but  who 
relies  upon  that  rather  than  upon  hard  work. 


CHAPTER  V 

FAIR  PLAY  AN  ESSENTIAL  IN  ANY 
FORM  OF  ATHLETIC   SPORTS 

Finally,  before  going  into  the  detail  of  the 
various  sports  in  our  schools  and  colleges,  the 
writer  is  tempted  to  appeal  to  boys  and  young 
men  to  remember  at  all  times  that  the  future 
of  athletics  lies  in  the  hands  of  those  who  are 
coming  on  and  who  can  make  that  spirit  good 
or  bad,  just  as  they  wish.  Thackeray  once 
wrote: 

"Who  misses  or  who  wins  the  prize? 
Go  lose  or  conquer  as  you  can, 
But  if  you  fail  or  if  you  rise, 
Be  each,  pray  God,  a  gentleman." 

And  upon  many  occasions  I  have  taken  the 
opportunity  of  quoting  this  at  school  and  col- 
lege dinners  as  one  of  the  best  mottoes  for 
any  man  who  goes  into  athletics.  I  would 
further  expand  this  by  asking  every  football- 
player  and  every  other  athlete  to  bear  in  mind 
that  one  of  the  first  principles,  and  a  cardinal 

54 


FAIR  PLAY  55 

one,  of  fair  play  is  to  have  confidence  and 
belief  in  the  integrity  and  good  spirit  of  the 
opponents  as  well.  It  is  not  playing  fair  to 
yourself  to  start  out  with  the  belief  that  your 
opponent  is  not  going  to  play  fair. 

At  the  request  of  the  editors  of  the  PhiUip- 
iariy  a  Phillips  Academy  paper,  a  few  years 
ago,  I  wrote  an  article  in  which  I  begged  every 
boy  who  loved  football  and  believed  in  its 
future  to  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  the  dirty 
play  and  not  the  dirty  field  that  blackens, 
that  unfairness  of  suspicion  will  spoil  any 
sport.  Particularly  is  this  true  in  a  sport  like 
football,  which  involves,  as  it  does,  almost 
continual  personal  contact.  Here,  no  amount 
of  legislation  can  take  the  place  of  a  prevail- 
ing spirit  of  fair  play.  English  Rugby  foot- 
ball presents  an  excellent  example  of  this  in 
the  rules  regarding  the  scrimmage.  One  of 
their  foremost  athletes,  in  commenting  upon 
the  methods  of  play  known  as  "wheeling  the 
scrum"  and  "heeling  out,**  said:  "Both  these 
methods  are  illegal  under  the  letter  of  the 
rule,  but  no  team  would  stand  a  chance  that 
did  not  practise  them.**  Now,  while  that 
illustrated   the   weakness   of   the   rules,   and 


56  ATHLETES  ALL 

showed  that  they  ought  to  be  changed  if  pos- 
sible, at  the  same  time  it  spoke  worlds  of 
praise  for  EngUsh  football-players,  in  that  it 
indicated  that  neither  team  ever  thought  of 
accusing  the  other  of  attempts  to  take  unfair 
advantage.  Each  team  tacitly  accepted  the 
weakness  of  the  rules,  but  was  satisfied  with 
the  play  because  each  team  thought  well  and 
fairly  of  the  other.  The  main  thing,  after  all, 
is  to  learn  the  rules  thoroughly,  and  be  sure 
of  what  they  mean;  then  play  as  hard  as  you 
like,  but  play  fair,  and  believe  the  other  side 
is  going  to  do  the  same.  Then  you  will  have 
no  regrets  and  you  will  have  done  your  part 
to  keep  a  good  game  where  it  should  be. 
Bear  in  mind,  if  you  are  spectators  and  parti- 
sans, that  when  the  opposing  team  comes  over 
to  your  side  of  the  field  and  you  are  cheering, 
and  the  little  quarter  throws  up  his  hands  to 
show  that  his  team  cannot  hear  the  signals,  it 
is  your  part  and  the  part  of  the  cheering  lead- 
ers to  bring  the  cheer  to  an  end  and  give  him 
a  fair  chance.  Never  cheer  to  distract  the 
opponents.  Cheer  all  you  like  to  encourage 
your  own  side.  Be  as  quick  to  appreciate  the 
good  play — a  long  run  by  an  opposing  half- 


FAIR  PLAY  57 

back — as  you  are  to  recognize  the  worth  in 
your  own  men.  No  one  expects  you  to  be  so 
self-sacrificing  as  to  feel  the  same  amount  of 
pleasure  in  a  victory  by  your  opponents  as  in 
a  win  by  your  own  side,  but  don't  let  that 
affect  the  cardinal  principle  of  fair  play. 

Another  point  that  is  well  worth  considera- 
tion is  the  irresponsible  gossip  which  begins 
no  one  knows  where  and  spreads  until  its 
poisonous  effects  have  done  untold  harm  to 
any  sport.  A  man  or  boy  is  rather  apt  to  like 
to  make  a  good  story  and  consequently  mag- 
nifies some  act  of  his  own  or  of  his  opponents, 
which  very  likely  at  the  outset  was  nothing 
of  moment,  until  it  becomes  a  serious  breach 
of  what  is  straight  and  right.  Suspicion  is 
added  to  suspicion,  then  quoted  as  fact,  and, 
before  the  story  stops,  it  bears  absolutely  no 
relation  to  the  original  act.  Don't  believe 
these  stories  and  don't  circulate  them.  A 
tale  was  told,  which  I  later  had  the  opportu- 
nity of  proving  entirely  false,  of  a  half-back 
on  the  second  team  of  a  prominent  university 
being  accused  of  an  attempt  to  lay  up  one  of 
the  first-string  backs  in  order  to  secure  his 
place  on  the  team.    When  I  heard  the  story 


58  ATHLETES  ALL 

I  denied  it  on  the  grounds  that  I  did  not  be- 
lieve that  in  any  university  there  was  not 
sufficient  college  spirit,  first,  to  prevent  a 
man  from  doing  this,  and,  secondly,  to  pre- 
vent his  boasting  of  it,  even  if  he  had  any 
intention  of  doing  it.  It  later  developed  that 
the  whole  thing  was  a  hoax  played  upon  a 
very  gullible  man  who  was  known  as  easy  to 
fool;  two  boys  had  told  the  story  to  him  with 
embellishments,  and  he  had  repeated  it.  The 
man  who  was  accused  of  this  confessed  the 
whole  joke  when  he  saw  what  a  serious  aspect 
it  had  been  given. 

Every  man  should  be  particularly  careful 
about  jokes  of  this  kind  which  may  eventually 
hurt  the  sport  in  which  he  is  interested,  al- 
though perhaps  understood  by  the  immediate 
members  of  his  team. 


Ill 

INFORMAL  GAMES  AND  STANDARD- 
IZED INSTRUCTIONS 


CHAPTER  VI 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  ATHLETICS  IN 
SERVICE  STATIONS 

For  a  year  and  a  half  athletics  have  been 
conducted  in  the  stations  of  America  on  the 
theory  that  without  recreational  sport  no  civ- 
ilization is  complete. 

The  men  who  have  organized  and  developed 
it  are  possessed  of  the  conviction  that  the 
lack  of  it  caused  the  German  nation  to  lapse 
into  the  fallacy  of  militarism,  and  that  when 
Germany  learns  the  true  spirit  of  sportsman- 
ship and  of  play  there  will  be  hope  for  the 
future  of  that  country. 

Whether  America  would  lapse  into  a  species 
of  barbarism  or  not  without  athletics  is  no 
longer  a  debatable  question  to  the  men  who 
control  the  destinies  of  the  service,  for  their 
belief  and  practice  is  that  through  the  or- 
ganization and  development  of  recreational 
sport  in  the  stations  the  civilization  of  the 
New  World  has  been  conserved  at  its  highest 
ideals   during   the   most  exacting  period   of 

61 


62  ATHLETES  ALL 

American  life — the  eighteen  months*  duration 
of  the  country's  participation  in  the  World 
War. 

I  can  speak  most  authoritatively  for  the 
work  in  the  naval  stations  and  aviation  fields, 
but  the  same  conditions  prevailed  in  the  army 
camps.  Surveying  briefly  the  organization 
and  growth  of  recreational  activities  since  the 
date  of  America's  entry  into  the  World  War, 
the  general  statement  may  be  made  that  in 
all  the  large  stations  and  in  most  of  the 
smaller  a  programme  of  sports  has  been  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  enhsted  men  comparable 
in  variety  and  extent  with  that  of  any  univer- 
sity or  any  available  for  the  typical  young 
man  of  America  in  his  home  city. 

Every  seasonal  sport  has  been  organized  by 
a  station  team,  while  regimental  and  other 
unit  play  has  been  developed  in  as  complete 
intermural  competition  as  has  been  possible 
under  the  pecuUar  conditions  which  exist  in 
every  individual  station. 

To-day,  with  the  curtain  rung  down  on  the 
drama  of  fire  and  bloodshed  which  has  held 
the  world  stage  for  four  years,  we  may  for  the 
first  time  take  stock  of  results. 


ATHLETICS  IN  SERVICE  STATIONS  63 

How  different  to-day  are  conditions  in  the 
camps  from  those  in  existence  in  any  and 
every  war  of  the  past,  American,  European, 
or  Asiatic ! 

For  the  man  of  the  past  who  entered  mili- 
tary service,  particularly  that  of  the  sea,  the 
curtain  fell,  and  his  career  was  a  closed  book 
till,  like  a  hermit  emerging  from  a  cave,  he 
stalked  again  into  public  view  at  the  close  of 
his  patriotic  struggle,  which  he  had  lived 
through  under  conditions  that  were  often 
depressing. 

Lacking  the  spur  of  wholesome  sport,  his 
days  were  cheerless  in  the  extreme. 

To-day  the  boast  is  possible  that  the  World 
War  of  1917-18  was  fought  by  America  with 
her  navy  men  surrounded  with  recreation, 
and  the  results  are  evident  in  America's 
achievement  in  placing  on  sea  duty  the  best- 
conditioned,  happiest-hearted,  and  highest- 
spirited  navy  ever  gathered  in  the  history  of 
the  world. 

Without  stint  or  defection,  the  services  of 
the  organizers  of  athletics  in  America  have 
been  at  the  disposal  of  the  men  in  uniform  of 
their  coimtry,  and  a  glance  at  the  group  who 


64  ATHLETES  ALL 

have  directed  recreational  sport  in  the  stations 
will  attest  to  the  truth  of  the  statement  that 
the  service  of  these  men  in  the  loftiest  of 
sportsmanship  was  merely  transferred  from 
the  commercial  to  the  patriotic  sphere. 

No  branch  of  athletic  activity  has  been 
overlooked  in  the  list  which  has  been  installed 
in  the  stations,  and  the  programme  which  has 
been  everywhere  put  into  effect  has  been  or- 
ganized to  meet  the  peculiar  conditions  exist- 
ing in  each  individual  station. 

Three  divisions  might  be  made  of  the  recre- 
ational-sport activities:  those  directly  aimed 
at  the  promotion  of  physical  fitness,  those 
that  afforded  protection  for  the  marine  fighter, 
both  offensively  and  in  self-defense,  and  those 
that  aimed  to  divert  and  interest  the  enlisted 
men  of  the  stations.  And  again,  the  games 
themselves  were  divided  into  two  classifica- 
tions, group  and  small  team  or  individual 
competition. 

Defining  the  training  of  the  men  at  the  navy 
stations  as  "an  effort  to  fit  them  for  sea  duty," 
athletics  became  instantly  of  prime  impor- 
tance as  an  adjunct  of  daily  routine.  Condi- 
tioning young  men  universally  is  a  novelty  in 


ATHLETICS  IN  SERVICE  STATIONS  65 

any  American  group,  whether  in  school,  fac- 
tory, or  counting-room,  as  well  as  even  in 
military  service,  but  the  experiment  has  been 
pushed  so  scientifically  and  thoroughly  among 
the  men  in  service  at  the  stations  that  the 
dream  of  universal  physical  fitness  has  now 
dawned  upon  the  American  nation  generally, 
until  not  only  are  the  colleges  of  the  country 
revising  their  recreational-sport  programmes 
so  as  to  make  universal  participation  in  some 
form  of  physical  exercise  compulsory,  but 
business  executives  are  establishing  similar 
simple  systems  for  their  operatives,  clerks,  or 
employees  as  the  most  effective  and  econom- 
ical form  of  industrial  insurance.  The  stand- 
ardized, shorthand  system  of  physical-fitness 
exercises  known  as  the  "daily  dozen"  has 
largely  revolutionized  the  general  conditioning 
form  of  drill  given  the  men  in  the  service. 
Until  its  adoption,  lack  of  standardization  and 
installation  of  cumbersome,  if  not  actually 
harmful,  physical-fitness  exercises  had  been 
reported. 

While  the  spectacular  events  participated 
in  by  navy  teams  in  the  popular  seasonal 
sports — ^football,  baseball,  track  athletics,  and 


66  ATHLETES  ALL 

rowing — had  the  eye  and  the  ear  of  the  Ameri- 
can public  with  an  intensity  hitherto  devoted 
exclusively  to  college  sports  and  the  games  of 
the  professional  world,  the  development  in 
the  navy  stations  of  the  individual  enlisted 
man  in  the  art  of  aggressiveness  and  self-de- 
fense was  no  less  important  a  factor  in  the 
general  navy  training. 

The  comment  which  has  been  made  and 
which  is  universally  admitted  to  be  true,  that 
individually  the  German  foe  was  no  match  for 
the  individual  fighting  marine,  is  a  tribute  to 
the  success  of  this  branch  of  training  in  phys- 
ical fitness  in  the  navy  stations  of  the  United 
States. 

Every  device  of  muscular  achievement, 
both  aggressively  and  in  the  art  of  self- 
defense,  was  included  in  the  programme  of 
physical  training  which  was  taught.  How  to 
grapple  and  conquer  a  Teutonic  opponent 
who  possessed  a  bayonet,  although  his  Ameri- 
can marine  antagonist  was  unarmed,  was 
shown  by  physical  instruction,  by  group  and 
by  individual  lessons,  as  well  as  on  the  mov- 
ing-picture screen.  How  to  creep  upon  a 
sleeping  German  camp  and,  using  the  devices 


ATHLETICS  IN  SERVICE  STATIONS         67 

of  physical  cleverness  taught  in  American 
navy  stations,  smother  two  slmnberers,  allow- 
ing the  possibility  of  a  third  awakening  and 
being  met  on  equal  terms  by  the  American 
marine,  was  one  of  the  lessons  given.  Both 
offensive  and  defensive  physical  cleverness 
was  assured  by  the  instruction,  which  was 
given  by  the  most  skilful  boxers,  wrestlers, 
and  experts  in  jiu-jitsu  in  America.  Not  only 
were  American  lives  saved  by  this  skilful  in- 
struction but  the  aggressiveness  of  the  Ameri- 
can marines  at  Chateau-Thierry  and  in  the 
Argonne  was  doubled  by  the  specialized  phys- 
ical instruction  which  preceded  their  gradua- 
tion from  their  home  navy  stations.  The 
relation  of  boxing  to  bayonet  fighting,  with 
constant  drill  in  the  most  efficient  methods  of 
obtaining  proficiency  in  both,  has  been  empha- 
sized throughout  the  navy-station  training. 

Standardized  rules  for  teaching  boxing, 
swimming,  and  wrestling  in  the  stations  have 
been  put  into  effect,  allowance  being  made, 
however,  for  individual  conditions  in  the  dif- 
ferent stations. 

Mass  games,  allowing  the  participation  of 
several  hundred  men,  have  been  perfected  by 


68  ATHLETES  ALL 

the  athletic  directors  in  the  stations,  and  gen- 
erally introduced  in  the  larger  districts,  and  it 
is  from  these  that  we  have  the  opportunity  to 
develop  in  school  and  college  more  of  the  gen- 
eral participation.  The  writer's  belief  is  that 
they  should  in  no  way  displace  the  major 
sports,  but  should  be  supplemental  to  them. 
Many  of  them  will  probably  die  out  in  time, 
but  some  will  live  and  give  more  pleasure  and 
exercise  to  the  American  boy. 


CHAPTER  VII 
STANDARDIZED  INSTRUCTIONS 

STANDARDIZED   SWIMMING  INSTRUCTIONS 

1.  Uniformity  of  drill,  regardless  of  number 
in  class  or  previous  aquatic  training  of  any 
individual. 

2.  Space  men  so  that  free-arm  movement 
is  possible. 

3.  Land  drill  for  arms:  Position.  Stand 
erect,  heels  together,  arms  at  sides.  Arms 
sideways;  raise  to  level  with  shoulders.  Bend 
arms  forward  from  elbows  to  right  angle  with 
upper  arm.  Left  arm  brought  sharply  down 
to  thigh.  When  this  point  is  reached  the  right 
arm  describes  the  same  movement,  while  the 
left  arm  is  carried  upward  and  sideways  until 
it  reaches  a  position  at  right  angles  with 
shoulder,  when  the  stroke  is  completed.  The 
right-arm  stroke  is  completed  exactly  like  the 
left.  Continuity  of  action  is  a  vital  point 
essential  to  perfection  of  this  stroke. 

4.  Leg  action:  Enter  shallow  water.     Each 


70  ATHLETES  ALL 

pupil  assumes  a  horizontal  position,  face 
downward,  supported  by  hands.  Arch  instep. 
Legs  as  near  the  surface  of  water  as  possible, 
and  not  more  than  four  inches  apart.  Legs 
must  have  free  action  from  hips,  and  alternate 
continuously  in  quick,  shallow  kicks.  No  co- 
ordination is  required  between  arm  and  leg 
movement. 

5.  When  leg  and  arm  action  have  been  mas- 
tered, divide  group  into  teams  of  two.  Num- 
ber one  grasps  number  two  about  hips,  giving 
necessary  support  while  arm  and  leg  action 
are  used  together.  At  the  conclusion  of  a 
reasonable  time,  teams  shift  positions. 

6.  There  is  no  deviation  from  this  routine 
until  all  have  mastered  the  art  of  swimming. 

7.  Have  adopted  the  crawl  stroke  as  the 
most  satisfactory  for  the  development  of 
swimmers  of  all  classes. 

STANDARDIZED   INSTRUCTIONS  IN   BOXING  AND 
WRESTLING 

Boxing 

1.  Instruct  in  balling  fists,  the  proper  plac- 
ing of  weight  on  feet,  with  weight  a  little  on 
front  foot.     Practise  three  steps  advance  and 


f 

' "  j»*"»'l^^^^5», '  '^^ 

k        4,fW~' 

^t*'    ■  ■     *.«. 

3».^-       'Ifl 

-■',-  .f»tt   >'^ 

.  --'f  1 

-i-«*-3^-^     _JC 

^^^^^RHMn 

T-r'rsrzzrr-*^-- 

.-•^-SkS. 

^5J!7.fc_>J 

1        e^ 

-jrv  -^ 

i. '^aL 

H^ibkCL 

j^I'Tjm 

1 

A( 

\^ 

im^pi    ' 

Boxing  bout. 


Wrestling  match. 
AT  THE  PP^LHAM  BAY  NAVAL  STATION. 


STANDARDIZED  INSTRUCTIONS  71 

with  left  jab,  three  steps  retreat  with  left 
hook. 

2.  Instruction  on  left  hook. 

3.  Instructions  on  right  cross  to  belly. 

Wrestling 

1.  Ordinary  hold  around  the  waist;  the  in- 
struction on  how  to  break  such  hold  with  the 
knee  or  heel  of  the  hand  or  with  the  head. 

2.  Headlock  and  break. 

3.  Strangle  hold  and  flying  mare. 

4.  Waist  hold  and  flying  mare. 

5.  Double  wrist  lock. 

6.  Jiu-jitsu  leg  break. 

7.  Knife  protection. 

8.  Breaking  arm  in  chnch. 

9.  Block  to  kick. 

SUGGESTED    PHYSICAL   EXERCISES   FOR  THREE- 
WEEK   PERIOD 

First  Week 

Squads  of  not  more  than  250  men  for  recre- 
ational thirty-minute  period 

1.  Limbering-up  exercises:  Front  rank,  hands 
placed  on  knees,  rear  rank  slapping  backs  of 
file  leaders,  about  face,  same  exercises. 


72  ATHLETES  ALL 

2.  Pulling  match:  Ranks  facing  each  other, 
right-hand  palm  down,  left-hand  palm  up. 
Grasp  opponent's  wrists  and  pull. 

3.  Pushing  match:  Same  formation,  right 
hand  against  opponent's  left  shoulder,  left 
hand  on  opponent's  arm,  push. 

4.  Rooster  fight:  Arms  folded,  one  foot  off 
ground;  make  opponent  touch  ground  with 
hand  or  foot  held  up. 

5.  Forward  relay:  Each  man  running  twen- 
ty-five yards  and  around  a  man  stationed  at 
that  point,  returning  and  touching  next  man. 
Man  finishing  falling  in  at  rear  of  line. 

6.  Backward  and  forward  relay:  Lines  facing 
away  from  man  stationed  fifteen  yards  away, 
man  runs  backward  around  man;  returning, 
running  forward  touching  back  of  next  man, 
then  lining  up  in  front  of  front  man  in  line. 

7.  Mount  tag:  One  man  is  *'it,"  and  can 
touch  any  man  who  is  not  on  the  back  of 
another;  a  man  mounted  on  another  man 
makes  both  exempt.  The  game  becomes 
lively  when  a  man  being  chased  tries  to  climb 
the  back  of  some  man  already  mounted.  In 
the  resulting  spill  "it"  can  touch  any  one  of 
the  three. 


STANDARDIZED  INSTRUCTIONS  73 

Second  Week 

Squad  of  between  100  and  150  men  in  two 
rows  at  six-pace  intervals 

1.  Forward  relay:  Partners  holding  inside 
hands  running  twenty -five  yards  around  man 
stationed  at  that  point,  returning  and  touch- 
ing next  pair. 

2.  Backward  relay:  Partners  holding  inside 
hands,  facing  away  from  man  stationed  fifteen 
yards  away,  running  backward  around  man, 
returning,  running  forward  and  touching  backs 
of  next  pair. 

3.  Human-burden  relay:  Man  carrying  part- 
ner on  his  back  to  man  stationed  fifteen  yards 
away,  dropping  him,  and  being  carried  back 
to  starting-point,  when  next  pair  runs. 

Squad  in  two  lines  at  five-pace  intervals 

4.  Leap-frog  race:  Station  three  men  at  ten- 
yard  intervals  in  a  forward-bend  position, 
hands  placed  on  knees;  man  running  straddle- 
vaults  three  men,  then  runs  back  and  touches 
next  man. 

5.  Mount  tag:  Already  described  in  first 
week's  programme. 


74  ATHLETES  ALL 

Note. — Each  platoon  is  requested  to  have 
ready  for  the  third  week's  programme  a 
"billy,"  made  of  canvas,  two  feet  long,  two 
inches  round,  stuffed  with  rags. 

Third  Week 
Squad  in  two  lines  at  five-pace  intervals 

1.  Shuttle  relay:  One-half  each  line  facing 
in  single  file,  the  other  half  twenty -five  yards 
between  leading  men;  on  starting  signal  lead- 
ing men  from  same  side  run  twenty-five  yards 
toward  opposite  man,  who  starts  when  touched 
by  runner.  Man  finishing  lines  up  in  rear  of 
line  on  the  side  he  finished  on. 

2.  Shuttle  cane  relay:  Same  as  first,  except 
that  man  starting  carries  cane  and  hands  to 
second  man,  etc. 

3.  Shuttle  backward  relay:  Lines  about  facing 
and  running  backward  to  reach  second  man. 

4.  Front  rank  play  three  deep.  Rear  rank 
play  policeman's  "  billy." 

5.  Rear  rank  play  three  deep.  Front  rank 
play  policeman's  "billy." 

Note. — Policeman's  "billy,"  or  "whip  to 
the  gap."  Men  line  up  in  a  circle  at  arm's 
length,  hands  behind  back.     Game  is  started 


STANDARDIZED  INSTRUCTIONS  75 

by  one  man  running  around  circle  with  "billy  " ; 
when  "billy"  is  placed  in  any  man's  hand  the 
recipient  tries  to  hit  the  man  on  his  right 
(runner  replacing  recipient  in  the  ring),  chas- 
ing him  around  circle  until  he  reaches  place 
again,  when  runner  keeps  on  going  until  the 
"billy"  is  placed  in  another  man's  hand. 

Three  deep:  Form  double  circle  facing  cen- 
tre, front  rank  inside,  rear  rank  directly  be- 
hind. One  player  is  "it,"  another  player  is 
the  runner.  "It"  and  the  runner  must  keep 
on  the  outside  of  the  circle  and  must  not  cut 
through  it.  The  runner  must  get  in  front  of 
some  "two"  before  being  tagged  and  the  rear 
man  in  that  "two"  becomes  the  runner.  In 
case  the  runner  is  tagged  he  becomes  "it," 
and  chases  the  man  who  was  "it,"  who  now 
is  runner. 

RULES   FOR  HAND-GRENADE   THROWING 

The  bull's-eye  of  the  first  target  is  placed 
75  feet  from  the  front  of  the  trench,  the  second 
100  feet,  and  the  third  125  feet.  These  dis- 
tances should  enable  a  majority  of  the  con- 
testants to  score  points  at  each  distance. 

There  will  be  five  circles  on  each  target. 


76  ATHLETES  ALL 

which  will  be  outlined  on  the  ground.  The 
circles  will  increase  in  size  according  to  the 
distance  the  grenades  are  thrown,  but  the 
same  number  of  points  will  be  scored  for  hits 
on  each  target.  There  will  be  a  distance  of 
\9>'j/2  feet  between  the  outer  circle  of  the  first 
target  and  the  outer  circle  of  the  second,  and 
7^  feet  between  the  outer  circles  of  the  sec- 
ond and  third  targets. 

The  event  is  preferably  a  team  contest. 
Four  men  will  compose  each  squad,  and  the 
team  scoring  the  highest  number  of  points 
will  be  declared  the  winner. 

Following  are  the  rules  governing  the  event: 

First:  The  hand-grenade  used  shall  be  the 
standard  iron  barrel-shaped  United  States 
army  grenade,  weighing  eighteen  ounces. 

Second:  The  grenade  shall  be  thrown  from 
a  space  3  feet  wide,  4  feet  long,  and  6  inches 
deep.  The  manner  of  throwing  shall  be  the 
prescribed  military  form,  a  brief  description 
of  which  follows: 

No  free-style  throwing  shall  be  allowed,  and 
a  judge  shall  be  appointed  to  disqualify  any 
one  using  other  than  the  approved  form.* 

*  Later  experiments  have  been  tried  in  "  baseball  "  swing. 


STANDARDIZED  INSTRUCTIONS  77 

The  contestant  faces  at  right  angles  to  the 
line  of  the  throw,  with  the  grenade  grasped 
firmly  in  the  palm  of  one  hand.  This  arm 
should  be  extended  at  the  side,  while  the 
other  arm  is  outstretched  in  the  opposite 
direction  toward  the  target,  so  that  both 
arms  and  shoulders  make  a  straight  hue.  The 
feet  should  be  about  two  feet  apart,  the  foot 
and  leg  nearest  the  target  being  straight  and 
pointing  in  the  direction  of  the  throw,  while 
the  other  leg  is  bent  at  the  knee,  the  foot 
being  at  right  angles  to  the  line  of  the 
throw. 

The  body  is  bent  sidewise  at  the  waist  and 
hip.  To  throw,  the  leg  and  body  are  straight- 
ened and  the  throwing  arm  is  brought  up  in  a 
vertical  plane  passing  through  the  target, 
while  the  other  arm  is  brought  down  sharply. 
The  grenade  is  released  at  the  highest  point 
of  the  arc.  The  arm  used  should  be  kept 
straight,  the  elbow  being  bent  only  slightly, 
if  at  all. 

Third:  Seventy-five  feet  from  the  throwing 
line  or  front  of  the  miniature  trench  a  bull's- 
eye  with  five  circles  shall  be  marked  on  the 
ground,  the  centre  ring  being  2  feet  in  diam- 


78  ATHLETES  ALL 

eter,  the  second  4  feet,  the  third  6  feet,  the 
fourth  8  feet,  and  the  outside  ring  10  feet. 

One  hundred  feet  away  a  second  bull's-eye 
shall  be  laid  out.  The  inner  circle  shall  be 
3  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  others  6,  9,  12,  and 
15  feet  respectively.  One  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-five feet  away  from  the  throwing  line  a 
third  target  shall  be  laid  out.  The  inner  cir- 
cle shall  be  4  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  others 
8,  12,  16,  and  20  feet  respectively. 

Fourth:  Each  contestant  shall  have  three 
throws  at  each  target. 

Fifth:  Each  grenade  landing  in  the  smallest 
circle  shall  score  five  points;  between  the 
smallest  and  next  larger  circle,  four  points; 
between  the  second  and  third  circles,  three 
points;  between  the  third  and  fourth  circles, 
two  points,  and  between  the  fourth  and  larg- 
est circles,  one  point. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  INVOLVING 
LARGE  NUMBERS  OF  MEN 

CHARIOT   RELAY   RACE 

This  has  proved  the  most  successful  of  the 
mass  games  introduced  into  navy  athletic  pro- 
grammes during  the  war.  It  was  devised  by- 
George  V.  Brown,  athletic  director  in  the  first 
district,  and  was  tried  on  Boston  Common  be- 
fore some  15,000  people  and  in  other  athletic 
meets  in  the  first  district  during  the  summer 
of  1918. 

One  of  its  great  advantages  is  the  fact  that 
a  hundred  men  can  be  used  on  a  team.  As 
many  teams  as  are  desired  can  be  entered, 
making  possible  a  total  entry  list  in  this  event 
of  several  thousand  men,  if  conditions  warrant. 
This  game  is  therefore  ideally  adapted  to  the 
larger  stations  and  meets.  Ten  men  run  on 
a  team  in  each  relay,  being  relieved  by  another 
ten,  who  in  turn  are  succeeded  by  the  next 
relay,  this  continuing  till  the  entire  team  of  a 
hundred  men  has  competed. 

78 


80  ATHLETES  ALL 

The  apparatus  is  simple  and  inexpensive. 
It  consists  of  two  perfectly  round  poles  about 
2  inches  in  diameter  and  about  12  to  15  feet 
in  length,  connected  with  ropes  at  the  ends. 
Six  men  run  in  the  first  line,  grasping  the  pole, 
and  four  men  in  the  second.  They  drag  over 
the  grass  a  toboggan,  which  can  be  purchased 
at  any  store  where  winter-sports  articles  are 
sold.  On  this  toboggan  is  seated  another 
man,  who  retains  his  seat  throughout  the 
race,  notwithstanding  the  changing  relays  of 
the  members  of  the  different  teams. 

As  indicated  in  the  accompanying  diagram, 
four  or  more  posts  are  driven  into  the  ground 
100  yards  between  A  and  B,  and  C  and  J9,  and 
between  each  succeeding  pair,  respectively, 
each  set  representing  the  distance  of  the  race. 
The  start  and  finish  of  each  relay  takes  place 
at  posts  A  and  C,  etc.,  respectively. 

The  starters  fine  up  as  the  starters  of  an 
ordinary  relay  race,  grasping  poles  M  and  N. 
At  the  gun  they  run  from  A  to  B  and  from 
C  to  Z),  respectively,  making  a  turn  at  B  and 
D  and  back  to  the  start — A  and  C.  The  next 
ten  men  of  the  company  are  all  ready  to  reheve 
these  men  and  they  take  up  the  running. 


Going  to  the  start. 


Under  full  steam. 


'Ihr.T  liarji-  makiiiL-  •  U.    -',ir 

THE  CHARIOT  RACE. 


Jt 


MEN       -^ 


■^N 


TEAM   1 
10  WCN 


.f«5l 


w 


§  START  AND  EINISM 


(^1 


START  AND  FINISH 


DIAGRAM  OF  CHARIOT  RACE. 


82  ATHLETES  ALL 

TRENCH   BALL 

Using  an  ordinary  football-field,  or  even 
larger  grounds,  teams  of  as  many  as  seventy- 
five  men  line  up  on  the  30-yard  line.  One  of 
the  teams  is  given  three  of  the  trench  balls, 
which  are  made  of  leather  and  are  about  the 
same  size  as  a  12-inch  indoor  baseball.  There 
is  a  loop  handle  on  one  side  through  which 
to  slip  four  fingers.  The  balls  are  thrown  with 
an  overhand  motion  similar  to  that  used  in 
throwing  hand-grenades.  If  the  balls  are 
caught  on  the  fly  the  catcher  is  allowed  to  ad- 
vance three  steps  before  throwing  them  in 
return.  If  they  are  not  caught  on  the  fly 
they  are  thrown  from  the  spot  where  they  are 
picked  up.  The  throws  are  consecutive,  no 
team  being  allowed  to  throw  the  same  ball  a 
second  time,  until  a  return  throw  is  made  by 
an  opponent. 

The  game  is  continued,  the  two  teams  ad- 
vancing and  retreating  until  the  balls  are 
thrown  over  the  goal-bar.  When  a  ball  is 
thrown  over  the  bar  it  counts  one  point  and 
is  out  of  play. 

The  game  continues  until  the  three  balls 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  83 

have  been  thrown  for  goals.  As  a  rule  the 
game  requires  between  nine  to  fifteen  minutes 
before  the  three  goals  are  thrown.  Most  of 
the  games  end  with  a  score  of  2  to  1. 

Note. — ^This  has  proved  a  popular  game  at 
stations  where  it  is  desirable  to  keep  150  to 
250  men  interested  in  a  light  recreational 
sport.  It  calls  for  constant  running,  catching, 
and  throwing. 

I  HARMLESS  FOOTBALL 

The  ball  is  kicked  off  from  the  centre  of  the 
field  or,  if  the  length  of  the  playing-field  is 
limited,  from  some  point  sufficiently  distant 
from  the  receiving  team*s  goal  to  allow  its 
members  to  run  the  kick  back.  In  a  small 
playing  space,  for  instance,  the  team  kicking 
off  would  kick  from  its  own  goal-line. 

Following  kick-off,  the  game  proceeds  ex- 
actly the  same  as  regular  football,  with  the 
following  changes: 

1.  No  tackling  is  permitted;  a  tag  or  a 
grasp  stops  the  man. 

2.  Interferers  for  the  runners  may  use  their 
hands  and  arms  to  block  an  opponent. 

3.  Any  number  of  forward  passes  may  be 


84  ATHLETES  ALL 

made  in  each  scrimmage,  but  no  forward  pass 
may  be  made  after  the  ball  has  crossed  the 
line  of  scrimmage. 

4.  Less  than  eleven  men  may  play  on  a 
side.  Furthermore,  I  have  used  the  game  as 
a  warm-up  and  relaxation  from  the  regular 
grind  of  practice,  with  fifteen  or  twenty  men 
on  a  side,  although  confusion  is  apt  to  result 
from  large  numbers. 

Note. — No  equipment  except  a  football  is 
required.  Any  number  of  men  up  to,  say,  fif- 
teen can  play  the  game.  The  rougher  fea- 
tures of  the  game  are  eliminated,  and  it  affords 
much  recreation.  Tripping,  holding,  and  such 
features  are,  of  course,  barred. 

A  similar  game,  devised  in  Australia,  is 
known  as  tiggi  tiggi  touchwood. 

CAGE   BALL 

An  inflated,  canvas-covered  ball,  24  to  30 
inches  in  diameter,  is  used  on  a  playing-field 
140  by  100  feet  in  dimension,  one-third  the 
size  of  a  football-field.  Two  net  cages,  20  feet 
in  length,  4  feet  in  width,  and  18  inches  deep, 
made  of  rope  and  stretched  between  cross- 
arm  uprights  30  by  50  feet  apart,  form  the 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  85 

goals,  which  are  placed  ten  feet  from  the  end 
of  the  field,  the  playing  space  therefore  ex- 
tending ten  feet  beyond  each  goal. 

The  official  ball  should  be  the  Wilson  No. 
221  Cage  Ball.  The  cages  should  stand  ten 
feet  from  the  floor  to  the  upper  edge,  the 
goals  attached  to  the  regulation  official  up- 
rights, which  are  made  of  wood  or  pipe,  with 
two  cross-arms  on  each.  One  cross-arm  is 
placed  ten  feet  above  the  ground  and  is  six 
feet  in  length,  the  other  eight  feet  above  the 
ground  and  six  feet  in  length.  Holes  or  eye- 
bolts  are  placed  in  the  ends  of  the  cross-arms. 
The  cage  is  anchored  by  ropes  coming  from 
each  corner  to  the  cross-arms  of  the  uprights. 

The  field  may  be  marked  off  by  either 
whitewashed  lines  or  by  four  flagpoles,  one 
at  each  corner  of  the  playing-field. 

The  officials  consist  of  a  referee  and  four 
umpires,  one  at  each  side  and  each  end  of  the 
playing  space,  to  rule  upon  out-of-bounds 
plays,  and  to  watch  for  all  infractions  of  the 
rules,  reporting  them  to  the  referee. 

To  begin  the  game,  the  two  teams  line  up 
twenty  feet  apart,  facing  each  other  in  the 
centre  of  the  field.     One  player  from  each 


86  ATHLETES  ALL 

side  walks  to  the  centre  of  the  field,  both 
grasping  the  ball.  At  the  referee's  whistle  the 
rival  teams  rush  toward  the  ball  and  the  two 
players  in  possession  of  it  strive  to  toss  it  to 
their  respective  team-mates.  The  members 
of  the  opposing  teams  try  to  bat,  punch,  or 
throw  the  ball  till  it  is  lodged  in  their  oppo- 
nents' cage. 

When  the  ball  touches  the  ground  the  ref- 
eree's whistle  is  blown  and  the  players  who 
possess  the  ball  are  made  to  raise  it  into  the 
air,  play  momentarily  ceasing  till  this  is  done. 

If  the  ball  goes  out  of  bounds,  either  at  the 
end  or  side  lines,  the  officials  do  not  stop  the 
play  unless  in  their  judgment  the  ball  is  being 
carried  too  far  to  make  scoring  possible. 
Then  the  referee  blows  his  whistle,  takes  the 
ball,  carries  it  to  the  side-Hne,  and  throws  it 
into  the  air  twenty  feet  into  the  field  of  play. 

Play  continues  thirty  minutes,  although  two 
halves  of  different  length,  with  five  minutes' 
intermission,  may  be  agreed  upon.  Three 
possible  fouls  may  be  committed:  running 
with  the  ball,  interfering  with  the  cage,  or 
kicking  the  ball.  In  case  one  is  committed, 
the  offended  team  is  given  the  ball  thirty  feet 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  87 

from  the  opponents'  goal.  The  offenders 
must  Hne  up  inside  a  point  twenty  feet  in  front 
of  their  own  goal  before  play  is  resumed.  A 
goal  counts  a  single  point  and  the  total  tally 
of  goals  is  the  final  score. 

In  case  of  a  tie  score  at  the  expiration  of 
time,  play  continues  until  one  side  has  scored 
a  goal. 

Note. — ^This  is  one  of  the  most  successful 
games  devised  for  mass  play,  and  can  be 
played  by  any  number  of  contestants,  from, 
say,  8  to  2,000.  It  is  rugged,  yet  not  over- 
strenuous. 

If  played  indoors  the  goals  should  be  fas- 
tened by  ropes  to  eye-bolts  or  cleats  fastened 
to  the  side  walls  at  each  end  of  the  playing 
space  at  the  appropriate  height  above  the 
floor. 

TUG  OP  WAR 

A  manila  three-stranded  rope  not  less  than 
4^  nor  more  than  5  inches  in  circumference 
is  used. 

A  tape  is  aflSxed  to  the  centre  of  the  rope, 
and  fifteen  feet  on  each  side  are  placed  side 
lines. 


88  ATHLETES  ALL 

A  centre  line  is  marked  on  the  ground,  and 
fifteen  feet  on  either  side  are  two  parallel  side 
lines. 

The  rope  is  taut  at  the  start  of  the  pull, 
with  the  centre  tape  over  the  centre  line,  and 
with  the  competitors'  outside  lines. 

A  pistol-shot  indicates  the  start  and  finish 
of  the  event. 

No  mechanical  device  is  used  for  holding 
the  rope,  but  a  belt  is  worn  to  protect  the 
body  of  the  anchor  man. 

No  man  can  pull  on  more  than  one  team 
in  competition,  but  preliminaries,  semifinals, 
and  finals  may  decide  the  winning  team  of  a 
series. 

The  event  is  won  when  one  team  pulls  the 
side  tape  on  the  rope  of  the  opposing  side  over 
the  centre  line,  or  at  the  end  of  three  minutes, 
by  the  team  whose  side  tape  is  farthest  from 
the  centre  line. 

The  pull  must  be  made  in  a  path  not  ex- 
ceeding fifteen  feet  in  width,  marked  by  fines 
for  at  least  100  feet  away  from  the  centre. 

No  competitor  is  allowed  to  wear  boots  or 
shoes  with  projecting  nails,  or  to  make  holes 
in  the  earth  before  starting  the  event. 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  89 

Only  the  anchor  man  is  allowed  to  pass  the 
tape  around  his  body. 

Each  team  is  allowed  one  coach,  who  may 
count  and  use  a  megaphone. 

Every  contestant  pulls  in  a  standing  posi- 
tion and  without  any  artificial  aid. 

Note. — Any  number  of  participants  can 
play  this  game,  but  thirty-five  on  a  side  are 
recommended.  Seventy-five  on  a  side  makes 
an  interesting  game.  Recommended  for  mass 
recreation  in  good-sized  stations. 

VOLLEY-BALL 

A  playground  measuring  some  20  by  40 
feet  and  a  hollow  ball  somewhat  larger  than 
a  tennis-ball  are  necessary  for  this  game.  The 
field  is  divided  by  a  narrow  net  or  a  rope 
stretched  across  the  short  dimension,  the  top 
of  the  net  reaching  seven  feet  above  ground. 

The  object  of  the  game  is  to  keep  the  hol- 
low ball,  or  volley-ball,  passing  from  one  side 
to  the  other  over  the  top  of  the  net  or  rope, 
by  batting  it  with  either  one  or  with  both 
hands. 

When  playing  with  young  or  inexperienced 
players  the  ball  may  be  returned  over  the  line 


90  ATHLETES  ALL 

either  on  a  "fly"  or  after  the  first  bound.  If 
the  ball  is  not  returned  over  the  line  in  this 
manner — that  is,  if  it  touches  the  ground 
twice  before  it  is  started  on  its  return,  or  twice 
during  its  passage  from  one  player  to  another 
of  the  same  team — a  point  is  scored  against 
the  side  that  has  failed — i.  e.y  the  serving  side 
scored  one  point. 

If  the  serving  side  bats  the  ball  outside  of 
the  bounds  of  the  playground  it  is  a  foul,  and 
the  opposite  side  then  serves  the  ball. 

Experienced  players  must  return  the  ball  on 
a  "fly" — i.  e.,  the  ball  must  never  touch  the 
ground.  If  it  does,  the  side  that  last  batted 
the  ball  over  the  net  scores  a  point.  Teams 
may  play  either  for  a  certain  number  of  points 
or  for  a  certain  length  of  time. 

Note. — ^As  an  active  conditioning  exercise 
for  two  teams  of  either  eight  to  sixteen  play- 
ers each,  either  indoors  or  outdoors,  this  game 
compels  enthusiasm. 

MODIFIED   FOOTBALL 

In  modified  football  there  is  no  running 
with  the  ball,  tackhng,  or  hard  blocking,  and 
groups  of  men  can  play  the  game  without  the 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  91 

regular  equipment.  It  can  readily  be  played 
by  service  teams,  as  the  only  equipment 
really  needed  is  a  football. 

The  game  can  be  played  on  a  regulation 
football-field  marked  out  and  with  or  with- 
out goal-posts.  Or  a  space  can  be  measured 
or  paced  out.  Flags  can  be  used  instead  of 
the  white  markings  with  very  little  change  to 
the  game.  The  game  is  entirely  a  passing  or 
kicking  game,  and  groups  of  men  can  play  it 
in  an  informal  way  with  considerable  enthu- 
siasm. The  rules  are  simple  and  can  be  un- 
derstood in  a  few  moments.  In  case  of  dis- 
cussions the  rules  of  football  as  explained  in 
the  Official  Guide  will  be  followed. 

Length  of  Field. — 300  feet — same  as  the 
regulation  football-field  without  the  end  zones. 

Width  of  Field. — 160  feet — same  as  the 
regulation  football-field. 

Goal-Posts. — 18  feet  6  inches  apart  in  cen- 
tre of  the  goal-line,  20  feet  high,  with  cross- 
bar 10  feet  from  the  ground. 

Field  of  Play. — Marked  off  in  20-yard  lines 
parallel  to  the  goal-line.    (Note. — ^Flags  can 

BE  USED  TO  MARK  OFF  THESE  20-YARD  LINES, 
PLACED  ON  THE  SIDE-LINES,  AT  THE  SAME  TIME 


92  ATHLETES  ALL 

MARKING  THE  SIDE-LINES.  WiTH  THE  FLAG 
MARKINGS  FOR  THE  GOAL  THE  BALL  MUST  GO 
OVER  THE  HEADS  OF  THE  OPPONENTS  TO 
COUNT.) 

Players. — Any  number,  preferably  11  men 
on  a  side. 

Length  of  Game. — 40  minutes  divided  in 
two  periods.  The  periods  can  be  lengthened 
or  shortened.  Five  minutes'  rest  allowed  be- 
tween periods. 

Ball. — Regulation  football. 

Official. — Referee  with  whistle  or  horn. 

Winner  of  the  toss  shall  have  the  choice  of 
goal.  If  winner  selects  goal,  loser  will  kick- 
off.  Loser  of  the  toss  shall  have  the  same 
privileges  at  the  beginning  of  the  second 
period. 

Team  kicking-off  shall  be  on-side  and  shall 
line  up  as  in  regular  football  and  shall  kick- 
off  from  the  regular  40-yard  line.  Opponents 
will  line  up  as  in  regular  football,  or  if  there 
are  more  or  less  than  11  players  they  shall 
be  arranged  by  the  captains,  except  that  they 
shall  be  10  yards  away  from  the  kicker. 

On  the  kick-off  the  ball  is  punted  out  and 
not  kicked  off  as  in  regular  football. 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  93 

Penalty  off-side  on  punt.  Ball  is 
brought  back  and  punted  from  a  mark 
10  yards  behind  the  40-yard  line.  op- 
ponents move  up  10  yards. 

In  receiving  ball  these  rules  will  be  followed: 

If  the  ball  is  caught  before  hitting  the 
ground,  the  player  catching  same  is  allowed 
three  long  steps  or  jumps,  and  can  return  ball 
by  either  punt  or  drop-kick,  one  extra  step 
being  allowed  for  the  kick. 

If  the  ball  is  missed  on  the  fly,  it  is  re- 
turned by  a  forward  pass  from  a  position 
where  it  is  stopped  farthest  away  from  the 
opponents'  goal-line,  one  step  being  allowed 
for  the  pass. 

If  the  ball  hits  the  ground  before  it  is  re- 
ceived by  a  player,  it  is  returned  by  a  drop- 
kick  from  a  position  where  it  is  stopped  far- 
thest away  from  the  opponents'  goal-line,  one 
extra  step  being  allowed  for  the  kick. 

A  kick-over  (touch-down)  is  scored  by  a 
drop-kick  only  over  the  opponents'  goal-line, 
at  any  place  between  the  side-lines.  Two 
POINTS  ALLOWED  FOR  THIS.  The  ball  is  then 
brought  out  15  yards  and  a  try  for  a  goal  is 
made,  one  point  being  allowed  for  the  goal 


94  ATHLETES  ALL 

if  made.  If  flags  are  used  instead  of  goal- 
posts, the  ball  must  go  over  opponents'  heads 
between  the  flags. 

When  a  goal  is  being  kicked,  the  opponents 
will  line  up  behind  the  posts  or  flags  and  at 
a  signal  from  the  referee  that  the  ball  has 
touched  the  ground,  they  can  run  out  and 
attempt  to  block  same. 

If  kick-over  (touch-down)  is  made  at  a  point 
near  the  side-lines  and  it  is  a  difficult  try  for 
a  goal  from  the  allowed  15  yards,  a  punt-out 
will  be  allowed.  With  the  kicker  behind  the 
goal-line  at  a  point  where  the  ball  was  kicked 
over,  the  opponents  will  line  up  behind  the 
goal-line  5  yards  away  from  the  kicker,  and 
when  the  referee's  whistle  has  announced  that 
the  ball  has  been  punted  out,  they  may  run 
out  and  attempt  to  prevent  the  kicker's  side 
from  making  a  fair  catch.  If  a  fair  catch 
is  made,  the  scoring  side  will  make  a  try  for 
goal  from  the  spot  where  the  ball  was  caught. 
If  the  ball  is  not  caught,  no  try  for  goal  is  al- 
lowed. 

The  loser  of  goal  has  the  choice  of  the  kick- 
off  (punt-out)  or  receiving  the  ball. 

If  the  ball  goes  outside  it  is  brought  back 


Carlisle  vs.  Yale,  Polo  Grounds,  N.  Y. 
MASS  PLAY. 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  95 

into  the  field  of  play  25  yards  from  where  it 
went  out  of  bounds,  and  the  side  who  were 
in  the  act  of  receiving  the  ball  will  punt  or 
drop-kick  the  ball,  players  on  the  kicking 
side  being  on-side.  The  opponents  must  be 
10  yards  in  front  of  the  kicker. 

Penalty  for  off-side  play,  10  yards,  the  ball 
being  brought  back,  and  after  penalty  the 
team  will  again  kick. 

If  the  player  of  a  team  deliberately 
touches  the  ball  before  it  is  returned 
by  the  opponents,  the  other  team  will 
receive  a  10- yard  penalty  from  where 
it  was  first  touched,  and  the  ball  will 
be  punted  or  drop-kicked  from  the  new 

MARK. 

Players  taking  more  steps  than  al- 
lowed WILL  BE  penalized  10  YARDS.  RE- 
CEIVERS  OF   the   ball   will   receive   the 

penalty  and  be  allowed  to  punt  or  DROP- 
KICK  THE  BALL.   If  A  GOAL  IS  MADE  ON  THE 

play,  it  does  not  count,  and  receivers 
will  bring  ball  out  10  yards  and  punt 
or  drop-kick. 
Referee  will  have  full  jurisdiction 

OP  the  GAME. 


06  ATHLETES  ALL 

MOUNTBALL 

This  is  a  game  of  ball  played  by  half  of  the 
players  while  mounted  on  the  backs  of  the 
other  players.  It  is  therefore  desirable  that 
the  players  be  paired  off  so  that  the  two  in 
each  pair  should  be  of  nearly  equal  weight  and 
size. 

The  players  form  a  circle  in  pairs.  To 
do  this  they  line  up  two  abreast,  each  with 
his  selected  partner.  This  double  line  then 
marches  in  a  circle,  halts,  and  faces  inward. 
This  will  form  two  concentric  circles.  There 
should  be  considerable  space  between  couples; 
in  other  words,  the  circle  should  be  rather 
large  in  comparison  with  the  number  of  play- 
ers. It  is  then  decided  by  a  toss-up  or  other- 
wise which  of  the  two  circles  shall  first  be 
"ponies"  and  which  shall  be  riders.  The 
ponies  bend  forward  from. the  hips,  pressing 
their  hands  against  the  knees,  or  thighs  just 
above  the  knees.  The  knees  should  be  stiff, 
not  bent.  The  backs  are  thus  bent  forward 
and  the  riders  mount,  straddling  the  shoulders 
of  the  players  who  are  ponies. 

The  ball  is  put  in  play  by  being  tossed  from 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  97 

any  player  to  another,  and  the  game  consists 
on  the  part  of  the  riders  in  trying  to  keep  the 
ball  in  as  active  play  as  possible  in  a  simple 
game  of  toss  and  catch,  and  on  the  part  of 
the  ponies  in  trying  to  prevent  the  catching 
of  the  ball.  To  do  this  the  ponies  must  grow 
restive  and  turn  around  in  any  way  they  see 
fit,  but  must  not  lose  their  general  place  in 
the  circle. 

When  a  rider  fails  to  catch  a  ball  all  of  the 
riders  must  at  once  dismount  and  run  in  any 
direction;  the  pony  belonging  to  the  rider  who 
missed  the  ball  picks  up  the  ball  immediately, 
and  as  soon  as  he  has  it  calls  "Halt !"  All  of 
the  riders  must  then  stand  still,  and  the  player 
who  holds  the  ball  tries  to  hit  his  recent  rider. 
The  rider  aimed  at  may  try  to  evade  the  ball 
by  stooping  or  jumping,  but  must  not  other- 
wise leave  his  place  on  the  floor.  During  this 
part  of  the  play  the  other  ponies  remain  in 
their  positions  in  the  circle,  so  that  the  one 
who  is  throwing  the  ball  will  not  confuse  them 
with  the  riders.  If  the  player  (pony)  who 
throws  the  ball  at  his  dismounted  rider  suc- 
ceeds in  hitting  him,  all  of  the  ponies  and 
riders  exchange  places,  the  riders  becoming 


98  ATHLETES  ALL 

ponies  and  the  former  ponies  mounting  them. 
If  the  player  aiming  the  ball  at  his  dismounted 
rider  does  not  succeed  in  hitting  him,  the 
riders  remount  and  the  game  goes  on  as  before. 

It  is  not  permissible  for  a  rider  to  hold  a 
ball  at  any  time,  no  matter  how  diflScult  his 
position  at  the  moment  may  be;  he  must  toss 
it  at  once.  It  is  well  to  have  a  leader,  whether 
one  of  the  players  or  not,  who  watches  for 
mistakes,  gives  the  commands  to  mount  and 
dismount,  and  announces  misses  and  hits. 

Note. — ^This  is  one  of  the  most  strenuous 
games  physically  of  its  kind,  and  between  ten 
and  sixty  players  are  the  best  number  to  at- 
tempt it.  It  is  adapted  to  the  playground  or 
gymnasium,  and  a  basket-ball  or  handball  is 
used. 

JUMPING   RELAY  RA.CE 

A  starting  line  is  drawn  anywhere  between 
ten  to  forty  feet  from  and  parallehng  a  finish- 
ing line,  in  accordance  with  the  distance  it  is 
desired  to  make  the  race,  and  the  players  line 
up  in  single  file  behind  the  starting  line. 
When  the  signal  is  given,  the  first  players  in 
each  file,  who  are  standing  toeing  the  start- 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  99 

ing  line,  jump  ahead  with  both  feet  till  they 
reach  the  finish  hne.  Then  they  turn  and 
run  back  to  the  starting  Une.  On  his  arrival 
at  the  starting  line  every  player  should  touch 
the  hand  of  the  next  player  in  his  file,  who 
should  begin  his  relay  in  jumping  as  soon  as 
his  hand  is  touched  by  the  returning  player, 
who,  after  touching  his  successor  in  the  relay, 
goes  to  the  end  of  the  file  of  contestants,  thus 
allowing  every  player  in  the  file  to  move  up. 

The  team  or  file  wins  the  race  whose  final 
player  is  first  to  reach  the  starting  line. 

Note. — ^This  game  is  popular  at  small  sta- 
tions. No  apparatus  or  training  is  necessary. 
Between  ten  and  fifty  players  are  recom- 
mended. 

OVER  AND   UNDER  RELAY 

The  players  stand  in  two  or  more  files,  the 
files  containing  an  equal  number  of  players. 
The  game  is  a  passing  relay,  the  files  compet- 
ing against  each  other.  The  leaders  of  each 
file  have  two  balls,  bean-bags,  or  blackboard 
erasers.  At  a  signal  a  ball  (or  whatever  is 
used)  is  passed  back  over  the  heads  of  the 
players  until  it  reaches  the  last  one  in  the 


100  ATHLETES  ALL 

line,  who  keeps  it.  The  leader  counts  ten 
after  the  ball  leaves  his  hands  and  at  once 
passes  back  the  second  ball  between  his  feet, 
the  players  bending  over  to  pass  it  along* 
When  this  reaches  the  last  player  he  runs 
forward  with  a  ball  in  each  hand  and  takes 
his  place  at  the  head  of  the  line,  which  moves 
back  one  place  to  give  him  room.  At  once 
he  passes  one  ball  backward  overhead,  counts 
ten,  and  passes  the  other  between  his  feet. 
This  continues  until  the  original  leader,  who 
has  been  gradually  backing  to  the  rear  of  the 
line,  reaches  the  front  again,  carrying  both 
balls.  The  line  wins  whose  leader  first  ac- 
complishes this. 

This  game  has  some  admirable  exercise  in 
it,  keeping  the  players  bending  and  stretching 
alternately.  Quick  play  should  be  encour- 
aged. 

Note. — ^This  game  is  a  combination  of 
archball  and  strideball.  It  is  adapted  to  out- 
door and  indoor  competition,  and  between 
ten  and  fifteen  players  make  the  best  combi- 
nation. 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  101 

STRIDEBALL 

The  players  are  divided  into  two  or  more 
groups,  which  compete  against  each  other, 
each  having  a  ball.  Each  group  stands  in 
single  file  in  leapfrog  position,  feet  wide  apart, 
to  form  a  tunnel  through  which  the  ball  is 
passed.  The  first  players  (captains)  of  each 
file  toe  a  line  drawn  across  the  ground,  and 
at  a  signal  put  the  ball  in  play  by  passing  it 
backward  between  the  feet.  When  players 
become  expert,  one  long  shot  will  send  the 
ball  to  the  end  of  the  line.  The  other  players 
may  strike  it  to  help  it  along  as  it  passes  them, 
if  it  goes  slowly.  Should  the  ball  stop  or  go 
out  of  bounds  at  any  place,  the  player  before 
whom  this  occurs  must  put  it  in  play  again, 
starting  it  between  his  feet.  When  the  ball 
reaches  the  rear  of  the  file  the  last  player 
runs  with  it  to  the  front,  the  line  moving  back- 
ward quickly  one  place  to  make  room  for  him, 
and  immediately  rolls  the  ball  back  again  be- 
tween the  feet.  This  is  repeated  until  the 
"captain"  is  the  last  player.  He  runs  for- 
ward with  the  ball,  places  it  on  a  marked  spot 
twenty  feet  in  front  of  his  line,  and  returns  to 


102  ATHLETES  ALL 

his  place  at  the  head  of  the  file.  The  file  wins 
whose  captain  is  first  to  return  to  his  original 
position. 

Should  there  not  be  space  for  a  point  at 
which  to  leave  the  ball,  the  game  may  be  fin- 
ished by  the  last  player  holding  up  the  ball 
when  it  reaches  the  end  of  the  line,  or  by  his 
running  forward  with  it  to  the  head  of  the 
line. 

An  Indian  club  instead  of  a  ball  makes  a 
much  more  skilful  game,  the  club  being 
shoved  over  the  ground,  neck  first.  It  is 
much  more  difficult  to  guide  than  a  ball,  re- 
quires greater  deliberation  for  a  long  shot, 
and  more  easily  stops  or  goes  out  of  bounds. 
A  basket-ball  or  small  ball  may  be  used. 

This  is  one  of  the  best  games  for  training 
self-control  under  excitement,  as  the  precision 
needed  for  a  long  shot,  especially  with  the 
Indian  club,  is  very  difficult  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. 

Note. — This  is  played  both  as  an  indoor 
and  an  outdoor  game,  adapted  to  between  a 
dozen  and  a  hundred  players,  with  any  ball, 
small  club,  or  bean-bag  as  apparatus. 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  103 

PASS  AND   TOSS   RELAY 

The  players  are  divided  into  two  equal 
groups,  which  compete  against  each  other. 
Each  group  is  divided  into  two  lines  or  ranks, 
which  stand  facing  each  other.  There  should 
be  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  of  space  between 
the  two  ranks. 

The  game  consists  of  passing  a  bean-bag  up 
one  of  these  lines  to  the  end,  when  the  last 
player  runs  across  to  the  opposite  line,  tossing 
the  bag  as  he  goes  to  the  end  man  in  that  line, 
who  catches  it  and  passes  it  down  the  line. 
The  same  play  is  performed  at  the  other  end, 
the  last  player  running  across  to  the  opposite 
line,  tossing  the  bag  as  he  goes  to  the  last 
player  there.  The  lines  move  up  or  down 
one  place  each  time  a  player  runs  across  to 
the  opposite  rank. 

This  play  is  repeated  until  the  first  one 
reaches  his  original  position  again,  and  the 
bag  is  passed  to  him  there.  Immediately  on 
receiving  it  he  should  lift  it  high,  as  a  signal 
that  the  play  is  completed  in  his  group.  The 
group  wins  whose  first  player  is  first  to  do 
this. 


104  ATHLETES  ALL 

The  game  may  be  made  a  little  more  definite 
by  the  first  one  having  some  distinguishing 
mark,  as  a  handkerchief,  tied  on  his  arm. 

When  players  have  some  proficiency  in  the 
game,  as  prescribed,  they  may  play  with  two 
bags  instead  of  one,  keeping  both  in  play  at 
once.  In  this  form  of  the  game  the  diagonal 
opposites  start  each  a  bag  at  the  same  time, 
that  is,  players  Number  1  and  Number  9. 
The  game  becomes  thus  just  twice  as  rapid. 
The  team  wins  whose  Number  1  and  9  first 
succeed  in  both  returning  to  their  original 
positions,  where  they  should  hold  the  bags 
aloft. 

A  score  should  be  kept,  each  team  scoring 
two  points  for  winning  a  game  and  one  point 
for  every  time  that  its  opponents'  bags  touch 
the  floor,  either  through  poor  throwing  or  bad 
catching. 

Note. — Any  kind  of  a  ball  or  similar  object 
may  be  used  as  equipment.  Between  sixteen 
and  sixty  players  are  recommended.  The 
game  is  a  year-around  indoor  and  outdoor 
affair. 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  105 

TARGET   TOSS 

Three  concentric  circles  should  be  drawn  on 
the  ground  or  floor,  after  the  idea  of  a  target. 
Their  size  will  depend  somewhat  on  the  skill 
of  the  players,  but  for  the  youngest  players 
the  inner  circle  should  be  not  more  than  two 
feet  in  diameter  and  the  outer  circle  six  feet 
in  diameter.  For  those  more  skilled,  smaller 
circles  may  be  used.  From  ten  to  thirty  feet 
from  the  outer  rim  of  the  largest  circle  a 
straight  line  is  drawn  on  the  ground  to  serve 
as  a  throwing  line.  Where  there  is  a  small 
number  of  players  all  may  use  one  target. 
Where  there  is  a  large  number,  several  targets 
should  be  drawn  and  the  players  divided  into 
as  many  groups.  Each  group  has  three  bean- 
bags,  or,  if  out-of-doors,  small  blocks  of  wood, 
stones,  or  shells  may  be  used.  Each  player 
throws  in  turn,  throwing  each  of  the  three 
bags  or  other  objects  at  each  turn.  The 
thrower  stands  with  his  toe  on  the  throwing 
line,  and  tosses  a  bag  toward  the  target.  If 
the  bag  stops  within  the  centre  circle  it 
scores  fifteen  points;  if  between  the  centre 
circle  and  the  next  larger  one  it  scores  ten 


106  ATHLETES  ALL 

points,  and  if  between  the  middle  circle  and 
the  largest,  or  outer  one,  it  scores  five  points. 
For  very  little  children  a  bag  that  lands  on  a 
line  may  score  for  the  larger  circle  which  it 
touches.  For  more  expert  players  a  bag 
landing  on  a  line  does  not  score  at  all.  The 
player  wins  who  has  the  highest  score  in  five 
rounds  of  the  game. 

Note. — This  is  an  indoor  and  outdoor  game, 
practicable  for  between  sixteen  and  sixty 
players.  Stones,  shells,  or  bean-bags  are  used 
as  apparatus. 

ARCHBALL 

The  players  line  up  in  two  or  more  single 
files,  which  compete  with  each  other  as  teams, 
and  must  therefore  contain  an  equal  number 
of  players.  The  captain  or  leader  of  each 
team  or  file  toes  a  line  drawn  across  the 
ground  and  holds  a  basket-ball  (a  bean-bag  or 
other  object  may  be  used).  At  a  given  signal 
he  passes  the  ball  backward  over  his  head  to 
the  player  next  behind,  who  in  turn  passes  it 
backward  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  so  on 
until  it  reaches  the  last  player  in  the  line.  He 
at  once  runs  forward,  carrying  the  ball  to  the 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  107 

front  of  the  line,  which  moves  backward  one 
place  to  make  room  for  him.  He  toes  the  line 
and  passes  the  ball  backward  over  his  head. 
The  play  continues  mitil  the  captain  reaches 
the  end  of  the  line,  and  runs  forward  with  the 
ball  to  his  original  place  at  the  head  of  the 
file.  As  he  takes  his  place  there  he  holds  the 
ball  aloft  as  a  signal  that  he  has  finished. 
The  file  or  team  wins  whose  captain  is  the 
first  to  return  to  his  place. 

The  game  may  be  made  very  enlivening  by 
passing  several  articles  in  rapid  succession, 
each  of  a  different  and  contrasting  character, 
such  as  a  basket-ball,  tennis-ball,  Indian  club, 
heavy  medicine-ball,  bean-bag,  light  dumb- 
bell, three  or  five  pound  iron  dumb-bell,  etc. 
In  this  form  of  the  game  the  last  player  must 
accumulate  all  of  the  articles  before  running 
forward  with  them,  or  the  score  may  be  made 
on  the  arrival  of  the  last  article  at  the  rear 
of  the  line. 

Note. — As  a  game  compelling  rivalry  be- 
tween several  teams  of  about  ten  players  each, 
this  is  attractive,  in  both  indoor  and  outdoor 
competition.  Basket-ball,  oat-sack,  or  bean- 
bag  is  used. 


108  ATHLETES  ALL 


MEDICINE-BALL  TAG 


Forming  a  circle  composed  of  ten  to  twenty 
players,  who  face  inward,  the  game  is  begun 
with  a  player  who  is  "it'*  standing  inside  the 
circle  and  trying  to  intercept  any  inflated  ball 
of  the  medicine-ball  type  as  it  is  being  tossed 
from  one  player  to  the  next.  When  he  catches 
or  touches  the  ball  he  is  entitled  to  take  the 
place  in  the  circle  of  the  man  who  has  last 
handled  it,  and  who  thereby  becomes  "it." 
The  game  is  played  on  a  circle  marked  on  the 
ground  or  gymnasium,  about  25  feet  in  diam- 
eter, and  the  players  may  either  stand  or  sit 
during  the  game. 

Note, — Interest  is  lost  if  too  great  a  circle, 
calling  too  many  players  into  the  game,  is 
formed. 

DODGEBALL 

Any  number  of  players  form  in  a  circle  in 
two  teams,  one  circle  facing  in,  the  players 
about  four  feet  apart,  the  other  team  being 
collected  inside  the  circle.  The  team  forming 
the  circle  has  a  number  of  the  basket,  volley, 
or  soccer  balls  which  are  available,  and  with 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  109 

them  attempts  to  hit  players  of  the  team  in- 
side. As  a  player  is  hit  he  drops  out  and  the 
game  continues  until  all  the  players  are  out. 
The  time  required  is  recorded,  the  teams 
change  places,  and  the  game  is  again  played, 
the  team  winning  which  requires  the  shortest 
time  to  put  out  its  opponents. 

Note. — ^The  game  is  adaptable  to  either 
playground  or  gymnasium  use,  but  a  circle 
composed  of  not  more  than  twenty-five  play- 
ers is  recommended. 

prisoner's  base 

After  selecting  two  teams  of  from  eight  to 
fifteen  players,  positions  are  taken  on  a  play- 
field  some  30  by  75  feet  in  dimensions,  with  a 
line  across  the  field  space  marking  off  a  section 
as  a  prison,  the  objective  of  the  sport  being  to 
capture  three  prisoners.  When  either  team 
has  done  this  it  has  won  the  game. 

Any  player  may  be  made  a  prisoner  by  an 
opponent  who  left  his  base  later  than  did  the 
first  player.  K  a  member  of  Team  No.  1 
advances  toward  a  base  of  Team  No.  2,  he 
may  be  tagged  by  any  member  on  Team 
No.  2.     He  therefore  quickly  retreats  to  his 


110  ATHLETES  ALL 

own  base  to  escape  being  tagged,  in  case  an 
opposing  player  pursues  him.  If  he  is  tagged 
before  reaching  his  base  he  is  sent  to  the 
prison  of  Team  No.  2.  Should  a  player  from 
his  own  team  run  out  to  support  him,  this  new 
player  having  left  his  base  later  than  the  pur- 
suer, he  may  tag  the  player  from  Team  No.  2 
and  place  him  in  the  prison  of  Team  No.  1. 

Prisoners  may  be  freed  when  one  of  the 
players  s\icceeds  in  tagging  a  prisoner  without 
himself  being  tagged.  If  there  are  two  pris- 
oners they  may  grasp  hands  and  stretch 
toward  their  own  team,  thereby  assisting  in 
their  release.  Both  are  free  if  the  first  is 
tagged.  When  a  prisoner  has  been  captured 
all  players  must  return  to  their  own  base  be- 
fore another  play  is  started.  Only  one  pris- 
oner may  be  made  at  a  time.  All  players 
must  stand  behind  the  line  marking  the  front 
of  their  base.  If  one  foot  is  put  over  the  line, 
they  have  left  their  base  and  may  be  made 
prisoners  by  an  opposing  player  who  is  still 
on  his  base. 

Note. — This  rather  historic  and  somewhat 
complicated  tag  game  allows  the  participation 
of  only  a  limited  number  of  players,  but  re- 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  111 

quires  no  equipment.  It  is  essentially  an 
outdoor  game.  A  referee  is  required  and 
order  must  be  insisted  upon.  Too  many  play- 
ers must  not  be  allowed  on  the  field  at  once. 

PASS   BALL  RELAY   WITH   ENCIRCLING 

Several  teams,  each,  containing  six  to  ten 
men,  are  chosen,  the  members  of  every  team 
standing  in  a  straight  line  next  to  one  another. 
When  a  signal  is  given,  the  ball  or  other  object 
which  is  used  is  passed  sideward  from  the 
first  to  the  last  player  in  every  team. 

As  soon  as  the  last  player  receives  the  ob- 
ject he  turns  and  runs  along  the  rear  of  his 
team,  then  along  the  front,  then  again  along 
the  rear  until  he  arrives  at  the  other  end  of 
the  line,  when  he  immediately  passes  the  ball 
to  the  next  player,  who  repeats  the  play  by 
passing  the  ball  again  down  the  line,  the  last 
player  in  line  encircling  the  team  as  before. 

This  is  repeated  until  every  member  of  the 
team  has  taken  his  turn  in  the  encircling,  and 
the  team  members  stand  again  as  at  the  be- 
ginning. 

A  variation  of  this  game  consists  in  allow- 
ing the  players  to  stand  one  behind  the  other 


112  ATHLETES  ALL 

and  passing  the  ball  overhead  or  underneath 
from  the  first  to  the  last  player.  In  this  case 
the  last  player  runs  along  the  right  side  of  his 
team,  down  the  left  side,  and  again  up  on  the 
right. 

When  running  around  the  ends  a  runner 
may  hook  his  arm  into  that  of  the  player  at 
the  end,  thus  enabling  a  quick  turning. 

Note. — Groups  between  a  dozen  to  a  hun- 
dred players  will  find  this  sport  a  lively  game, 
adapted  to  agility  and  quick  thinking. 

FOOTBALL  BASEBALL 

Salient  features  of  both  baseball  and  foot- 
ball are  combined  in  this  game.  The  objec- 
tive of  play  is,  as  in  baseball,  to  circle  the  four 
bases  and  thereby  score  in  tally. 

Positions  are  taken  by  the  nine  players, 
as  follows:  One  behind,  one  in  front,  one  to 
the  right,  and  one  to  the  left  of  the  home- 
plate;  one  just  outside  and  one  somewhat  in- 
side first  base;  one  just  outside  and  one  some- 
what inside  third  base;  one  just  to  the  left  of 
second  base. 

The  team  at  bat  or  on  the  attack  sends  a 
player  to  open  the  game.     He  steps  to  the 


FORMS  OF  CONTESTS  113 

home-plate  and,  standing  on  it,  kicks  the  ball 
into  the  field  by  means  of  a  punt,  drop-kick, 
or  place-kick.  In  doing  this  he  must  not  step 
beyond  the  home-plate.  If  he  wishes  to  take 
one  or  more  steps  before  kicking  the  ball  he 
must  begin  behind  the  home-plate. 

Except  as  follows,  the  regular  rules  apply: 

(a)  If  the  ball  is  kicked  outside  the  foul-line 
on  a  fly  the  player  is  out. 

(6)  If  the  ball  lands  inside  the  foul-lines 
and  then  bounces  or  rolls  out,  this  is  a  fair 
play. 

(c)  A  player  on  a  base  cannot  leave  this 
base  to  run  for  the  next  one  until  the  ball  is 
kicked. 

{d)  After  a  kick,  a  player  on  a  base  may 
run  until  he  is  put  out,  according  to  the  rules 
governing  baseball,  or  thrown  out  (see  e),  or 
until  the  ball  has  been  placed  on  the  home- 
plate  by  an  opposing  player.  If  the  runner 
has  passed  first  base  and  is  approaching  sec- 
ond (or  third)  base  after  the  ball  has  been 
placed  on  the  home-plate,  he  may  continue 
until  he  reaches  his  base.  This  rule,  how- 
ever, shall  not  apply  to  a  runner  approaching 
the  home-plate;    in  order  to  score  a  run  he 


114  ATHLETES  ALL 

must  reach  the  home-plate  without  being 
touched  with  the  ball. 

{e)  A  player  is  out  who  when  off  the  base 
is  tagged  with  the  ball  in  the  hands  of  an 
opponent,  or  who  when  off  a  base  is  hit  with 
the  thrown  ball. 

(/)  A  fielder  may  throw  or  kick  the  ball  to 
his  team-mates. 

{g)  Three  outs  shall  end  an  inning,  and  nine 
innings  shall  constitute  a  game. 

Note. — Two  competing  teams  of  nine  play- 
ers are  used  for  this  indoor  and  outdoor  event, 
which  is  usually  played  on  a  diamond  of  regu- 
lation size,  with  an  oval  football. 


CHAPTER  IX 
GAMES  ADAPTED  TO  SMALLER  GROUPS 

Wholly  apart  from  the  games  which  are 
ideally  adapted  to  large  masses  of  men,  a 
large  list  of  recreational  sports  is  available. 
These  are  of  especial  use  for  constant  service 
in  the  stations  or  naval  units  in  which  a  small 
number  of  men  are  quartered.  The  games  are 
both  for  individual  and  mass  play,  and  in- 
clude a  number  which  call  for  military  equip- 
ment and  a  number  which  require  no  equip- 
ment whatever. 

Most  of  these  are  designed  for  outdoor  work, 
but  require  no  specially  constructed  field. 
Many,  however,  can  be  given  in  gymnasiums 
or  auditoriums  where  indoor  sports  are  held. 
Complete  descriptions  of  these  games  follow. 

TURN   OUT   ELI 

This  event  is  a  primitive  form  of  football, 
without  the  ball.  A  man  stands  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  field,  with  all  the  other  competitors 

115 


lie  ATHLETES  ALL 

behind  a  line  some  fifty  yards  from  him. 
When  he  calls  "Turn  out  Eli,"  the  other  men 
run  from  their  line  the  length  of  the  field  past 
the  man  the  entire  hundred  yards  to  another 
line  parallel  to  the  line  behind  which  they 
started.  If  the  man  in  the  middle  has  been 
able  to  tackle  and  hold  one  or  more  of  the 
other  competitors  on  their  run  across  the  field, 
the  man  or  men  held  must  join  him,  and  when 
he  next  gives  the  signal  "Turn  out  Eli," 
must  help  him  tackle  the  other  men  as  they 
run  across  the  field,  from  line  to  line.  The 
game  continues  till  the  men  in  the  centre  have 
tackled  and  held  all  the  men  who  are  running 
from  line  to  line.  This  may  be  played  by 
between  ten  and  possibly  as  many  as  forty 
men.  The  game  should  last  about  fifteen 
minutes. 

HOPPING   RACE 

In  this  event  every  individual  competitor 
races  with  one  foot  either  held  in  his  hand  and 
not  touching  the  ground,  or  else  with  the  foot 
bound  and  tied  so  that  it  cannot  touch  the 
ground,  while  the  race  is  run  with  the  com- 
petitor hopping  on  the  other  foot. 


GAMES  ADAPTED  TO  SMALLER  GROUPS    117 

Between  four  and  a  dozen  competitors 
should  enter  this  race,  which  lasts  about  a 
minute. 

POTATO  RACES 

These  are  the  simple  events  in  which  every 
individual  competitor  picks  up  between  ten 
and  thirty  potatoes  lying  in  a  row  on  the 
ground  about  two  feet  apart.  The  number  of 
competitors  varies  between  four  and  about  a 
dozen  men. 

THREE-LEGGED   RACE 

In  this  event  the  competitors  run  a  distance 
of  between  25  and  200  yards  in  teams  of  two, 
each  pair  running  with  their  inside  legs  tied 
together  as  they  stand  side  by  side. 

SACK   RACE 

In  this  event  every  individual  competitor 
steps  into  a  sack  and  races,  leaping  ahead 
from  25  to  100  yards  with  the  sack  tied  about 
his  body. 


118  ATHLETES  ALL 


RELAY  RACES 


These  offer  the  greatest  variety  imaginable, 
including  the  straight  relay,  in  which  the  sim- 
ple handkerchief  or  cork  is  passed,  varied  with 
all  sorts  of  obstacle  events  and  all  sorts  of 
regulations  regarding  clothing,  articles  car- 
ried in  the  hands  and  arms.  As  many  teams 
as  may  be  desired  can  be  entered  in  these 
races.  Usually  from  four  to  ten  teams,  of  be- 
tween four  and  eight  members  each,  are  em- 
ployed. 

CRAWL  RACE 

This  is  an  individual  event  in  which  the 
contestants  race  from  20  to  50  yards  on  hands 
and  toes  without  bending  knees  or  elbows.  A 
variation  is  for  the  entrants  to  lie  flat  on  their 
stomachs  and  crawl  10  to  15  yards.  Still 
another  is  for  them  to  race  20  to  25  yards  on 
hands  and  feet,  with  backs  toward  the  ground. 

HUMAN    WHEELBARROW    RACE 

The  players  are  arranged  in  pairs,  one  be- 
hind the  other,  with  the  front  man  on  the 
ground,  with  his  hands  on  the  starting  line. 


GAMES  ADAPTED  TO  SMALLER  GROUPS    119 

At  a  given  signal  the  rear  man  lifts  the  front 
man's  legs,  and  the  teams,  by  pairs,  race  a 
short  distance. 

CHARIOT   PURSUIT   RACE 

A  square  field,  possibly  a  baseball  diamond, 
or  a  circular  track  is  used.  Teams  of  four 
men  are  formed,  with  their  arms  locked,  re- 
maining in  that  position  till  the  end  of  the 
race.  The  teams  are  placed  a  given  distance 
apart;  if  on  a  baseball  diamond,  each  being 
stationed  on  one  of  the  bases.  The  teams 
begin  a  pursuit  race  upon  the  referee's  signal, 
the  team  winning  which  first  catches  the 
other. 

Note. — ^This  is  not  to  be  confounded  with 
the  mass  chariot  race,  played  with  standard 
equipment  and  large  number  of  competitors. 

RESCUE   RELAY 

Any  number  of  teams  can  participate. 
Each  team  is  divided,  one-half  standing  in  file, 
one  in  back  of  the  other  at  one  starting  line, 
the  other  half  lying  on  the  ground  on  their 
backs,  twenty  or  twenty-five  yards  away. 
At  a  signal  the  first  man  of  each  file  at  the 


120  ATHLETES  ALL 

starting  line  runs,  picks  up  the  first  man  on 
the  ground  and  carries  him  back  to  the  start- 
ing Hne.  The  man  carried  is  supposed  to  be 
wounded  and  should  give  no  assistance  what- 
soever, but  is  dead-weight,  and  the  **  fireman's 
carry*'  is  used.  As  the  first  man  crosses  the 
starting  line  with  his  burden  the  second  man 
in  line  starts. 

RESCUE   RACE 

Two-men  teams.  Rescue  men  run  fifty- 
yards  to  "wounded  men,"  lift  them  on  their 
shoulders  without  any  assistance  by  the 
wounded,  and  carry  them  back  to  the  start. 

TRACK  AND   RUNNING   EVENTS 

These  may  be  held  not  only  as  simple  run- 
ning races  but  as  obstacle  matches,  with 
every  competitor  handicapped  by  material 
carried  in  his  hand,  on  his  back,  or  on  his  feet, 
as,  for  instance,  wearing  heavy  shoes,  carry- 
ing a  bundle  on  his  back,  or  a  heavy  stick  or 
other  weight  in  his  hand.  These  races  should 
have  between  four  and  a  dozen  men  each,  and 
last  according  to  the  distance  over  which  the 
competitors  run. 


'^^-^^^ 


11  ^* 


The  end  of  a  sprint. 


Broad  jump. 
TRACK  MEET  AT  PELHAM  BAY  STATION. 


GAMES  ADAPTED  TO  SMALLER  GROUPS    121 
SWAT  TAG 

The  men  form  a  circle  facing  the  centre 
and  keep  their  eyes  on  the  ground  in  the 
middle  of  the  ring,  with  their  hands  behind 
them,  palms  up.  One  man  goes  around  the 
outside  of  the  circle  with  a  "swatter"  in  his 
hand,  which  may  be  an  old  glove,  belt,  or 
any  convenient  object.  This  man  is  called 
"it."  He  starts  the  game  by  walking  around 
the  outside  of  the  cirlce  with  the  swatter  in 
his  hands,  and  placing  it  in  the  hands  of  any 
of  the  players.  The  person  in  whose  hands 
the  swatter  has  been  placed,  immediately 
strikes  his  neighbor  on  the  right  with  it.  This 
player  to  avoid  being  struck  with  the  swatter 
runs  around  the  circle  once  and  back  to  the 
place  that  he  has  vacated.  The  player  in 
whose  hands  the  swatter  has  been  placed  has 
the  privilege  of  placing  it  in  the  hands  of 
any  of  the  players. 

CROSS   TAG 

A  player  who  is  chosen  to  be  "it"  calls 
out  the  name  of  another  whom  he  elects  to 
try  to  tag.     A  third,  at  any  time,  may  run 


122  ATHLETES  ALL 

between  the  two  other  players.  When  he 
passes  the  Hne  between  them  he  becomes  the 
object  of  the  pursuit  instead  of  the  original 
second  player.  A  fourth  player  may  at  any 
time  run  between  the  pursued  player  and  the 
man  who  is  **it,"  thus  diverting  the  chase  to 
himself,  and  this  may  be  continued  indefinitely. 
Whenever  a  player  crosses  between  the 
chaser  and  the  player  pursued,  the  latter 
ceases  to  be  a  fugitive.  Whenever  the  player 
who  is  "it"  tags  the  player  who  is  properly 
being  chased,  the  tagged  player  becomes  "it." 

RUN  AROUND 

The  men  line  up,  three,  four,  and  five  deep, 
forming  a  circle,  all  facing  the  centre  and 
representing  the  spokes  of  a  wheel.  One  free 
man  called  "it"  goes  around  the  outside  of 
the  circle  and  strikes  the  back  of  a  man  who 
is  the  last  in  any  line.  The  man  struck  does 
the  same  to  the  man  in  front  of  him,  and 
when  all  the  men  in  that  line  have  been  struck 
they  all  run  around  the  circle  to  the  right 
and  endeavor  to  get  their  places  in  the  line 
again.  The  man  last  to  regain  his  position 
in  the  line  is  "it." 


GAMES  ADAPTED  TO  SMALLER  GROUPS  123 
THREE  DEEP 

The  men  form  a  double  circle,  all  facing 
the  centre,  all  the  Number  Ones  directly  in 
front  of  the  Number  Twos.  There  are  two 
free  men,  one  called  "it"  and  the  other  the 
"runner."  The  thing  is  for  *'it"  to  catch 
the  "runner,"  who  runs  around  the  outside 
of  the  circle,  before  the  "runner"  can  get  in 
front  of  any  Number  One.  If  the  latter  suc- 
ceeds in  doing  this  before  he  is  tagged,  the 
last  man  in  his  line,  namely.  Number  Three, 
becomes  the  "runner."  If  the  "runner"  is 
tagged  he  becomes  "it,"  and  chases  the  man 
who  was  chasing  him. 

HUMAN   BURDEN   RACE 

The  men  form  a  double  file  back  of  a  line 
and  at  a  signal  the  men  in  the  rear  mount 
the  backs  of  those  in  front  and  are  carried  to 
a  line  twenty-five  or  fifty  yards  away.  They 
then  reverse  positions  in  back  of  this  line  and 
start  back  to  the  starting  line,  the  one  reach- 
ing that  point  first  winning  the  race. 


124  ATHLETES  ALL 

SKIN   THE   SNAKE  RELAY 

Any  number  of  men,  from  eight  to  twenty 
on  each  side,  may  take  part  in  this,  forming 
two  parallel  lines.  The  men  spread  their  feet, 
and  the  man  in  front  puts  his  right  hand  be- 
tween his  legs  and  reaches  back  and  takes  the 
left  hand  of  the  man  in  back  of  him,  and  so  on 
down  the  line.  At  a  signal  the  last  man  in 
the  line  lies  down  on  his  back  on  the  ground, 
and  each  man  in  the  line  walks  or  topples  back 
with  his  feet  spread  until  all  are  on  the  ground. 
The  last  man  to  fall,  the  man  in  front,  touches 
his  head  to  the  ground,  then  rises  and  starts 
forward,  pulling  his  man  after  him.  The 
hands  remain  grasped  throughout  the  game, 
and  the  line  first  to  resume  its  original  posi- 
tion, skin  the  snake,  wins. 

you've  got  to 

Twenty  or  thirty  men  form  a  circle,  grasp- 
ing hands  firmly.  Within  the  circle  are  hats, 
gloves,  chairs,  belts,  medicine-balls,  etc.,  and 
each  man  in  the  circle  endeavors  to  make  the 
men  each  side  of  him  touch  one  of  the  objects 


GAMES  ADAPTED  TO  SMALLER  GROUPS    125 

within  the  circle.  The  man  touching  an  ob- 
ject drops  out.  If  a  break  comes  in  the  circle 
the  man  on  the  left  of  the  break  drops  out, 
he  being  blamed  for  the  break,  as  it  was  his 
right  arm  which  let  go. 

HAT  GRAB 

Two  teams,  ten  to  thirty  on  each,  face  each 
other  about  thirty  yards  apart.  The  men 
on  one  team  place  their  hats  on  a  line  between 
the  two  teams.  At  a  signal  all  rush  for  this 
line  and  endeavor  to  get  a  hat  and  return  to 
their  places  in  Hne  without  being  tagged.  A 
man  is  tagged  only  when  he  has  a  hat  in  his 
hand,  and  when  he  is  thus  tagged  he  drops 
out.  The  game  continues  imtil  one  side  is 
wiped  out. 

BLACK  AND   WHITE,    OR  MUTT  AND   JEFF 

Two  teams,  up  to  twenty-five  men  each, 
face  each  other  about  four  feet  apart.  One 
side  is  called  "Black"  and  the  other  "White," 
or  "Mutt"  and  "Jeff,"  respectively.  We 
will  take  "Mutt  and  Jeff"  for  this  illustra- 
tion. The  instructor  calls  the  name  of  one 
side,  we  will  say  "Mutt,"  which  side  im- 


126  ATHLETES  ALL 

mediately  turns  and  makes  for  a  line  about 
thirty  feet  behind  them.  The  side  called 
"Jeff"  endeavors  to  catch  them  before  they 
reach  this  line,  and  throw  them  to  the  ground. 
The  men  thrown  drop  out  of  the  game.  The 
game  continues  until  one  whole  side  is  elimi- 
nated. 

CANE-SPREE 

Canes  about  three  feet  in  length  are  placed 
in  the  centre  of  the  court  or  playing  enclosure, 
alongside  each  other,  in  a  line  parallel  to  the 
ends  of  the  court.  The  competing  teams  line 
up  at  the  respective  ends  of  the  playing  en- 
closure and,  at  a  given  signal,  rush  to  seize 
the  canes  and  to  return  with  them  to  the  end 
line  of  the  court.  The  side  which  returns 
with  the  most  canes  at  the  end  of  three 
minutes  is  winner.  No  restrictions  are  made 
as  to  the  methods  used  to  secure  the  canes, 
except  that  no  roughing  is  allowed,  such  as 
tripping,  strangling,  or  kneeing. 

MOUNTED    PUSH-BALL 

This  is  a  variation  of  the  dismounted  event 
which   has   proved   interesting   and  popular. 


GAMES  ADAPTED  TO  SMALLER  GROUPS    127 

both  with  players  and  spectators.    The  rules 
are  identical  with  the  dismounted  event. 

MIXED   TEAM  RELAY  RACE 

This  differs  from  the  typical  relay  race  be- 
cause an  officer,  usually  a  corporal,  runs  with 
the  enlisted  men,  remaining  in  the  rear,  while 
the  team  runs  in  formation  the  entire  distance. 
The  half-mile  has  been  found  to  be  an  excel- 
lent distance,  and  teams  of  seven  men  each 
are  recommended.  The  position  of  the  cor- 
poral as  he  finishes  the  race  will  be  taken  as 
the  position  of  his  team. 


CHAPTER  X 
ROUGH-AND-READY  GAMES 

GUN   WRESTLING 

Any  number  of  men,  equipped  with  broom- 
sticks, wooden  rifles,  or  smooth  clubs,  are 
hned  up  into  two  squads  facing  each  other 
some  four  feet  apart.  Every  pair  is  given  a 
club,  and  wrestles  for  its  possession  for  a 
specified  number  of  minutes.  The  side  which 
possesses  the  most  clubs  or  rifles  at  the  end  of 
the  game  wins.  This  is  similar  to  the  game 
"fighting  foe  for  rifles." 

OVER   THE   TOP 

Two  teams,  composed  of  any  number,  ten 
yards  apart,  line  up  facing  each  other,  the 
defensive  team  thus  standing  twenty  yards 
distant  from  its  goal-line.  The  team  on  the 
offensive  tries  to  break  through  the  line  of 
the  team  on  the  defensive  after  the  starting 
signal.  Sides  are  then  reversed,  and  the  team 
wins  which  has  the  greater  number  of  men 

128 


ROUGH-AND-READY  GAMES  129 

across  the  goal -line  of  its  opponents  after  a 
specified  time,  usually  two  minutes. 

NO  man's   LAND 

Two  teams  of  five  or  six  men  each  stand  at 
equal  distances  from  a  table  about  two  feet 
high  and  from  four  to  six  feet  square,  wearing 
boxing-gloves.  At  a  given  signal  they  run  to 
the  table,  jump  upon  it,  and  fight  for  a  minute 
or  two.  The  side  with  the  most  men  on  the 
table  when  the  bout  closes  wins.  The  con- 
testants are  allowed  to  pull,  push,  or  punch. 

Note. — ^These  three  rugged  games,  adapted 
for  a  comparatively  small  number  of  contes- 
tants, are  of  direct  benefit  in  stiffening  the 
self-defense  as  well  as  the  aggressive  powers 
of  the  men  in  military  training.  They  are  an 
important  aid  in  preparing  men  for  overseas- 
fighting  duty. 


CHAPTER  XI 

GAMES  FOR  INDIVIDUAL  OR  PAIR 
COMPETITION 

DOG-FIGHT 

Two  players  kneel,  facing  each  other,  some 
three  feet  apart,  with  an  endless  strap  or  string 
which  will  not  cut  into  the  flesh  over  the 
heads,  which  must  be  kept  back  and  up.  At 
the  starting  signal  the  players  pull  until  one 
drags  the  other  off  the  mat  or  pulls  his  head 
forward,  thus  releasing  the  strap. 

THE   LONG   REACH 

The  individual  contestant  marks  a  line  on 
the  ground  or  floor  and  toes  it.  With  a  piece 
of  chalk  or  a  stick  he  bends  forward  as  far  as 
possible  from  the  line,  and  rises  again  to  his 
original  position  without  moving  his  toes  from 
the  line.  The  hand  which  supported  the  body 
in  stooping  to  make  the  mark  must  not  be 
drawn  along  the  ground  or  placed  on  it  a 
second  time. 

130 


INDIVIDUAL  OR  PAIR  COMPETITION      131 


INDIAN  WRESTLE 

By  pairs  the  contestants  lie  side  by  side 
upon  their  backs,  with  arms  locked  and  feet 
extended  in  opposite  directions.  They  raise 
and  lower  their  right  feet  twice.  They  lock 
heels  at  the  third  raising  and  each  endeavors 
to  bring  his  opponent's  leg  down  to  the 
ground,  thereby  turning  him  upon  his  face. 

COCK-FIGHT 

Two  players  are  placed  in  a  ring  six  feet  in 
diameter  on  the  ground  or  floor.  They  stoop 
and  grasp  their  ankles  and  in  this  position 
they  attempt  to  displace  each  other  by  shoul- 
dering. The  player  who  loosens  his  grip  on 
his  ankles  or  who  is  toppled  loses. 

ROOSTER-FIGHT 

Two  players  squat  within  a  circle  drawn 
upon  the  floor,  placing  a  stick  under  their 
knees,  with  the  arms  under  the  stick  and  the 
hands  clasped  in  front  of  the  knees.  In  this 
position  each  player  tries  to  tip  over  his  op- 
ponent. 


132  ATHLETES  ALL 

STICK   TWISTING 

Two  players  grasp  a  broom-handle  high 
over  their  heads,  bring  the  stick  down  be- 
tween them,  thereby  twisting  it  within  the 
hands  of  one  of  the  players. 

HAND    WRESTLE 

Two  wrestlers  clasp  right  hands,  advancing 
the  right  foot,  and  each  tries  to  make  his 
opponent  move  a  foot  from  his  position  on 
the  ground. 

RISING   PROM   PROSTRATE   POSITION 

Each  individual  folds  his  arms  across  the 
breast,  lies  down  on  his  back,  and  gets  to  his 
feet  without  using  hands  or  elbows. 

Note. — ^These  purely  individual  stunts,  by 
their  variety  and  direct  application  to  physi- 
cal improvement,  are  adaptable  in  a  combina- 
tion of  the  combative  and  the  play  spirit. 


CHAPTER  Xn 

GROUP  OF  SPONTANEOUS  GAMES, 
ADAPTED  TO  BOTH  GYMNASHJM  AND 
PLAYGROUND,  CALLING  FOR  ONLY  A 
SMALL  NUMBER  OF  PARTICffANTS 

WATER-BUCKET   RACE 

Every  contestant  travels  with  a  bucket  half 
filled  with  water  balanced  on  his  head  with 
his  hands  as  firmly  as  he  can  hold  it.  The 
man  who  finishes  the  race  with  the  mor': 
water  left  in  his  bucket  or  pail  wins.  As  con- 
siderable of  the  water  is  sure  to  be  lost  from 
the  bucket  during  the  race,  the  event  has 
proved  decidedly  amusing. 

EQUIPMENT   RACE 

By  squads  the  contestants  remove  their 
shoes  and  place  them,  each  pair  carefully  la- 
belled, in  a  single  pile.  The  contestants  dash 
from  the  starting  line  to  the  pile,  some  thirty- 
five  to  seventy-five  yards  away,  pick  out  their 
own  shoes,  throwing  as  far  away  as  they  wish 

133 


1S4  ATHLETES  ALL 

any  shoes  not  their  own.  The  squad  which 
first  arrives  at  the  starting  line  with  all  the 
shoes  of  its  members  wins  the  race. 

KING   RUN 

Two  teams  numbering  between  eight  and 
forty  men  each  are  formed,  and  line  up,  the 
even  numbers  facing  each  other,  all  the  men 
of  the  same  side  joining  hands  with  arms  ex- 
tended. When  play  begins  one  man  from 
each  team  will  leave  his  place  in  line  and  throw 
himself  against  the  locked  hands  of  any  two 
men  on  the  opposite  side.  If  he  breaks 
through,  all  the  players  to  his  left  return 
to  his  team  with  him.  If  he  fails  to  break 
through,  he  joins  the  opposing  team.  The 
sides  alternate  in  sending  men  to  break 
through,  and  the  team  with  the  most  men  at 
the  end  of  a  given  period  wins  the  game. 

CROSSING  THE  RUBICON 

On  a  long  central  line  two  teams  of  any 
numbers  each  are  formed  facing  each  other, 
every  contestant  with  one  foot  on  the  line. 
At  the  start  of  play  every  contestant  attempts 
to  pull  another  over  the  line  and  succeeds 


GROUP  OF  SPONTANEOUS  GAMES         135 

when  both  feet  of  his  rival  have  crossed  the 
line.  The  captured  player  joins  his  rival's 
team,  and  helps  it  to  pull  all  its  opponents 
over  the  line. 

A  variation  of  this  game  is  given  by  each 
team  having  a  prison  thirty  yards  back  of  the 
line.  When  a  team  pulls  an  opponent  over 
the  line  that  player  automatically  goes  into 
the  prison.  Members  of  each  team  may 
rush  across  the  line,  and  if  they  reach  the 
prison  without  being  thrown,  they  may,  with 
the  prisoners  they  take,  return  to  their  own 
side  of  the  Kne  without  molestation.  When  a 
prisoner  is  touched  in  prison  by  a  member 
of  his  own  team  not  a  prisoner,  he  is  free  to 
accompany  his  fellow -team  member  back 
across  the  line.  When  a  prisoner  is  captured 
one  man  of  the  side  making  the  capture  may 
drop  back  to  prevent  opponents  getting 
through  to  him.  The  team  which  has  cap- 
tured the  most  prisoners  within  a  set  time 
limit  is  the  winner. 

HAND   PUSH 

Teams  of  any  numbers  stand  along  a  cen- 
tral line  facing  each  other,  one  foot  advanced 


136  ATHLETES  ALL 

to  the  line.  The  hands  are  held  shoulder 
high,  with  palms  facing  outward.  At  the 
signal  every  player  attempts  to  make  his 
opponent  move  one  foot  off  the  ground,  and 
to  throw  him  off  his  balance.  The  player 
who  succeeds  counts  one  toward  victory,  and 
the  team  whose  players  outnumber  their 
rivals  in  taUying  is  the  winner. 

TOSS   THE   BLANKET   RELAY 

Any  number  of  teams,  each  composed  of 
between  sixteen  and  fifty,  arranged  in  parallel 
Unes,  each  team  consisting  of  an  even  number 
of  members,  may  be  formed.  The  men  op- 
posite each  other  firmly  grasp  hands  with 
arms  outstretched.  Each  team  has  a  runner 
and  two  extra  men.  The  runners  at  one  end 
of  the  line  stand  some  five  yards  from  that 
end  and  the  two  extra  men  at  the  opposite 
end.  When  play  begins,  the  runners  leap 
upon  the  arms  of  the  men  in  their  team,  who 
toss  them  the  length  of  their  line,  just  as  they 
would  toss  a  man  with  a  blanket.  The  runner 
is  shot  clear  of  the  line  at  the  opposite  end, 
where  he  is  caught  by  the  two  extra  men. 
He  immediately  turns  and  leaps  upon  the 


GROUP  OF  SPONTANEOUS  GAMES         137 

arms  of  the  last  men,  who  toss  him  up  the 
line  where  he  started  from,  and  where  he  is 
caught  by  the  two  extra  men. 

The  team  which  tosses  its  runner  back  and 
forth  first  is  declared  the  winner. 


IV 

ORGANIZATION  AND  MANAGEMENT 


CHAPTER  XIII 

COMMITTEES  IN  SCHOOLS  AND  CAMPS 

The  earlier  a  youth  learns  something  of  the 
salutary  effect  of  organization,  the  better  will 
he  be  fitted  not  only  for  the  minor  parts  of 
school  and  college  life  but  for  the  major  work 
that  comes  later,  when  he  goes  out  into  the 
world  or  into  the  service  of  his  country. 
Many  points  of  this  description  will  also  prove 
of  value  to  non-commissioned  officers,  upon 
whom  may  fall  the  detail  of  conducting 
athletics  in  a  camp  or  station.  For  this  rea- 
son I  advocate,  even  in  the  younger  schools, 
the  introduction  of  the  principle  of  systematic 
method  into  all  their  affairs,  particularly  in 
their  athletic  concerns.  One  has  only  to  go 
back  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  to  find  that 
even  in  the  large  colleges  and  universities 
matters  were  conducted  in  a  very  slipshod 
way,  and  methods  of  properly  dealing  with 
the  athletic  affairs  were  almost  unknown. 
Each  organization  was  quite  independent  of 

141 


142  ATHLETES  ALL 

any  other.  When  a  manager  and  captain 
graduated  there  was  very  little  for  the  suc- 
ceeding captain  and  manager  to  take  over  in 
the  way  of  knowledge  and  experience,  and  the 
result  was  that  similar  mistakes  were  repeated 
over  and  over  again.  The  first  that  I  am 
able  to  find  of  any  definite  attempt  to  correct 
this  was  in  the  case  of  a  captain  who  kept  a 
sort  of  diary.  This  man  was  captain  for  two 
years,  having  been  elected  in  his  junior  year, 
and  by  the  end  of  his  second  year  he  had  col- 
lected an  amount  of  recorded  experience  in 
this  diary  which  was  of  great  value  to  his 
successor,  to  whom  he  turned  it  over.  This 
particular  diary  dealt  with  football  and  de- 
scribed the  various  attempts  at  plays,  where 
the  mistakes  were  likely  to  arise,  how  to 
avoid  them,  what  plays  to  use  on  rainy  days, 
what  methods  to  adopt  when  playing  with 
the  wind  and  playing  against  it,  what  teams 
had  been  unsatisfactory  competitors,  the  de- 
tail of  arrangement  with  visiting  teams,  and 
a  number  of  like  suggestions,  which  really 
started  the  first  principles  of  carrying  over 
from  one  management  to  another  the  bene- 
fits of  acquiring  wisdom  in  these  matters. 


COMMITTEES  IN  SCHOOLS  AND  CAMPS    143 

A  similar  course  of  procedure  is  open  to 
any  schoolboy  captain  to-day,  and  would 
prove  valuable  to  his  successor  even  though 
the  details  of  management  have  now  been 
very  considerably  improved  so  far  as  relates 
to  the  business  end.  Since  that  time  the  de- 
tail of  organization  has  grown  to  be  much  re- 
spected in  the  larger  universities  and  colleges 
and  many  of  the  schools.  There  is  no  reason 
why  this  should  not  be  taken  up  in  the  small 
schools  and  minor  athletic  clubs. 

In  the  first  place,  it  would  be  found  advisa- 
ble to  amalgamate  all  the  athletic  interests  in 
a  school  or  club,  at  the  same  time  keeping  a 
certain  amount  of  independent  individuality. 
For  instance,  we  will  suppose  that  a  school 
supports  four  of  the  main  branches  of  ath- 
letics, namely,  football,  baseball,  basket-ball, 
and  track  athletics.  Each  one  of  these  should 
have  a  captain  and  manager  and  their  ac- 
counts should  be  kept  independently,  but  at 
the  same  time  there  should  be  a  general  ath- 
letic committee,  upon  which  committee  each 
one  of  these  organizations  has  a  representa- 
tive, and  there  should  be  a  representative  of 
the  faculty  on  this  committee,  together  with  a 


144  ATHLETES  ALL 

certain  representation  of  the  graduates  of  the 
school.  Financially,  it  is  well  to  have  all  the 
receipts  pooled  into  one  common  fund,  the 
accounts  of  each  being,  however,  kept  sepa- 
rate, so  that  each  manager  has  an  especial  in- 
terest in  the  economic  running  of  the  affairs 
of  his  association.  There  should  be  a  com- 
mon treasurer  and  all  the  receipts  should  be 
turned  into  his  hands  and  all  expenditures 
made  through  him,  each  organization  having 
special  order  forms;  the  accounts  of  the  or- 
ganization should  be  audited  once  a  year  by  a 
member  of  the  faculty,  and  if  there  be  a  school 
paper  the  reports  should  be  published  in  this 
school  paper. 

Of  course,  in  the  large  universities,  football 
is  now  the  main  support  of  the  other  branches 
of  athletics,  although  as  a  rule  baseball  is  quite 
self-supporting.  The  other  organizations  in 
a  university,  like  track  athletics  and  rowing, 
must  be  supported  either  by  subscription  or 
by  the  overplus  coming  in  from  football  and 
baseball.  It  will  be  found  on  organizing  them 
into  a  common  association  under  a  committee 
that  purchases  can  be  made  more  effectively 
and  quantity  discounts  taken  advantage  of. 


COMMITTEES  IN  SCHOOLS  AND  CAMPS    145 

and  at  the  same  time  that  the  tendency  toward 
extravagance  of  any  one  organization  which 
makes  more  money  than  is  expended  in  their 
own  support  is  considerably  checked,  because 
there  is  such  an  evident  need  of  the  money  for 
the  support  of  other  sports. 

In  a  majority  of  the  schools  it  is  probably 
true  that  athletics  are  supported  by  general 
subscription,  either  by  an  assessment  or  by 
voluntary  contributions.  In  any  case,  the 
money  will  go  further  and  will  be  more  wisely 
expended  if  there  is  an  organization  of  the 
kind  described.  It  is  true  that  one  school  dif- 
fers from  another  or  one  college  from  another 
in  the  amount  of  financial  support  necessary 
to  certain  sports,  and  in  the  returns  from 
these  sports,  but  the  principle  remains  the 
same.  It  is  not  diflBicult  to  support  an  or- 
ganization of  this  kind  if  the  accounts  of  the 
last  four  or  five  years  are  obtainable.  If  these 
have  not  been  kept,  or  have  been  kept  so  care- 
lessly that  they  cannot  be  used  for  the  pur- 
poses of  comparison,  an  accounting  for  a  year 
should  be  held,  and  then  a  basis  will  be  given 
for  the  preparation  of  a  budget  for  each 
sport   for   the   succeeding  year.     It   will   be 


146  ATHLETES  ALL 

found  on  putting  this  into  practice  that  the 
development  of  business  sense  in  the  boys 
who  hold  oflSce  or  who  are  on  these  commit- 
tees is  worth  all  the  time  and  labor  it  costs, 
and,  in  addition,  the  athletic  interests  will  take 
on  a  far  more  deiSnite  and  satisfactory  shape. 
This  same  principle  should  be  applied,  and 
generally  is,  to  any  well-organized  athletics 
in  a  station  or  cantonment  under  an  athletic 
oflScer. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

ORGANIZATION 

When  such  a  committee  has  been  formed 
it  will  be  found  advisable  to  divide  the  main 
committee  into  certain  subcommittees  for  the 
purposes  of  rapid  and  satisfactory  action.  In 
the  first  place,  there  should  be,  in  order  to 
establish  this  general  committee,  a  mass- 
meeting  of  the  school  or  club,  and  a  committee 
appointed  there  to  draft  a  constitution.  This 
constitution  should  then  be  passed  upon  at 
another  meeting  of  the  school.  As  soon  as 
this  constitution  is  drafted  and  ratified,  such 
members  of  the  committee  as  are  elective 
should  be  chosen  and  they  should  then  unite 
with  the  ex-officio  members — that  is,  captains 
and  managers,  who  by  virtue  of  their  office 
become  automatically  members  of  this  com- 
mittee. Then  this  committee  should  meet 
and  elect  its  officers,  the  chairman  and  secre- 
tary, and  if  the  office  of  treasurer  is  made  an 

147 


U8  ATHLETES  ALL 

elective  office,  they  should  elect  him.  It  is 
usually  customary,  however,  to  have  either  a 
graduate  or  a  faculty  treasurer.  After  the 
election  of  officers  it  is  well  to  have  an  execu- 
tive committee,  a  small  number,  three  or  four 
at  the  most,  being  chosen  from  the  main  com- 
mittee. This  committee  can  act  on  matters 
requiring  prompt  consideration  and  decision, 
and  where  necessary  its  act  can  be  later  rati- 
fied by  the  main  committee.  There  should  be 
a  finance  committee,  on  which  the  treasurer  is 
himself,  ex  officio,  a  member.  After  this  organ- 
ization of  the  committee  it  may  be  found  in 
later  action  that  it  is  advisable  to  have  other 
subcommittees,  as,  for  instance,  a  field  com- 
mittee, which  should  take  charge  of  the  up- 
keep of  grounds,  buildings,  and  field;  a  com- 
mittee on  eligibility;  perhaps  also  another 
committee  on  rules  and  regulations  relating 
to  the  use~of  the  field  or  playgrounds,  so  that 
there  may  be  no  clashing  of  one  organization 
with  another  in  the  use  of  the  advantages 
provided. 

After  the  organization  has  been  thoroughly 
perfected  and  has  been  in  operation  for  a  year, 
it  may  be  found  advisable  to  alter  certain  of 


ORGANIZATION  149 

the  provisions  of  the  constitution  or  the  by- 
laws that  may  have  been  passed;  to  alter 
somewhat  the  powers  of  the  officers;  to 
change  the  personnel  of  the  committee.  All 
these  things  can  then  be  done  properly  and 
in  order  and  to  the  great  advantage  of  the 
interests  of  the  school  and  its  athletics. 

Now,  in  addition  to  this  organization  for 
the  government  and  running  of  athletics  in 
the  school,  let  me  revert  once  more  to  the 
matter  of  a  captain's  diary  or  log-book.  This 
idea,  if  developed,  can  be  made  of  the  greatest 
possible  value  to  the  athletic  interests  of  the 
school  and  of  succeeding  captains.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  a  note-book  of  a  similar  kind 
to  be  kept  by  a  manager.  As  a  rule,  the  cap- 
tain has  another  assistant,  unless  perchance 
he  has  a  field-captain,  who  takes  his  place  in 
case  he  is  not  in  condition  through  some  acci- 
dent, to  go  on  the  field  and  lead  his  men.  In 
the  case  of  a  manager,  however,  in  all  the 
larger  organizations  there  is  an  assistant  man- 
ager and  sometimes  even  a  second  assistant. 
If  any  boy  occupying  the  position  of  man- 
ager will  keep  notes  set  down  immediately 
at  the  time  of  the  occurrence,  detailing  his 


150  ATHLETES  ALL 

experience  and  suggesting  how  his  successor 
may  profit  by  that  experience,  he  can  congrat- 
ulate himself  upon  building  up  a  fund  of 
knowledge  for  the  business  end  of  his  organiza- 
tion that  will  not  only  be  appreciated  by  his 
immediate  successor  but  by  a  long  line  of 
successors. 

A  few  suggestions  may  be  in  order  for  the 
captain  and  the  manager  in  this  connection. 
Let  us  suppose,  first,  that  the  captain  of  a 
basket-ball  team,  with  his  team,  goes  to  play 
in  other  rinks  or  gymnasiums  than  his  own, 
and  he  finds  certain  differences  in  the  condi- 
tions which  it  would  be  well  for  his  successor 
to  know  and  advise  the  team  of  that  they 
may  be  prepared  for  this  on  occasion  of  their 
next  visit.  We  will  suppose  the  captain  of  a 
football  team  goes  to  another  town  to  play 
and  finds  that  certain  ground  rules  are  neces- 
sary. He  should  jot  this  down  for  the  bene- 
fit of  his  successors,  so  that  they  may  be  able 
to  tell  the  team  before  the  last  minute  what 
these  ground  rules  are.  He  may  find  certain 
points  coming  up  in  the  rulings  that  may 
take  him  or  his  team  unawares,  and  these 
should  be  noted  so  that  before  the  next  con- 


ORGANIZATION  151 

test  his  succeeding  captain  will  know  exactly 
what  to  expect  and  may  talk  perhaps  with 
the  officials  about  it.  Let  us  suppose  a  base- 
ball captain  had  visited  another  diamond  for 
a  contest  and  a  crowd  had  interfered  in  some 
way  in  the  outfield  with  the  game.  This 
should  be  noted  preparatory  to  making  ar- 
rangements for  another  season.  These  are 
only  a  very  few  suggestions,  but  they  will 
give  an  idea  of  what  points  of  value  the  cap- 
tain may  put  down. 

Moreover,  he  can  make  his  diary  as  full  as 
he  likes  of  suggestions  regarding  the  players 
who  are  going  to  play  another  year  or  more, 
so  that  his  successor  may  have  clear  ideas  as 
to  their  capabilities  and  possibilities.  Take 
the  case  of  a  manager,  on  the  other  hand. 
He  may  find  difficulty  in  hi3  guarantees.  He 
may  find  after  the  trip  is  over  that  he  could 
have  made  better  arrangements  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  his  players.  He  may  have 
found  that  there  is  a  cheaper  way  to  make 
the  trip  with  the  same  amount  of  comfort. 
He  may  have  become  involved  in  a  disagree- 
ment with  some  other  manager,  and  wish  to 
prepare  his  successor  for  handling  a  similar 


15«  ATHLETES  ALL 

situation  the  following  year.  All  these  things 
count  in  the  matter  of  organized  athletics  of 
to-day,  and  the  earher  a  boy  learns  this  the 
more  capable  he  will  be  later  on. 


CHAPTER  XV 
MANAGEMENT 

A  BASEBALL  nine  or  a  football  team  can  be 
made  or  marred  by  its  captain  or  manager. 
In  the  professional  ranks  of  baseball  the  man- 
ager is  the  important  factor,  the  captain  being 
the  field-captain,  as  a  rule,  and  not  director- 
in-chief  of  the  policy  of  the  nine.  In  many  in- 
stances the  field-captain  has,  however,  played 
a  very  important  part,  and  especially  is  this 
true  if  he  is  a  natural  leader  of  men.  In  ser- 
vice as  well  as  school  and  college  organizations 
the  plan  is  very  different.  The  manager  un- 
dertakes the  financial  end  of  the  business, 
arranges  details  and  guarantees,  and  sched- 
ules the  trips,  looks  after  the  training- table,  if 
the  nine  has  one,  and  in  general  attends  to  all 
the  business  end  of  the  venture.  The  cap- 
tain looks  after  the  training  of  the  men,  their 
daily  practice,  the  development  of  their  vari- 
ous abilities,  and,  finally,  has  full  charge  of 
them  in  the  game  itself,  very  much  as  the  pro- 

153 


154  ATHLETES  ALL 

fessional  manager  has  of  his  team.  For  these 
reasons  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  for  a 
station  or  cantonment,  as  well  as  the  college 
or  school  organization,  that  a  proper  selection 
of  these  two  men  be  made. 

There  are  various  methods  of  determining 
whether  a  man  or  boy  will  make  a  good  man- 
ager or  not.  He  ought  not  to  be  selected  for 
his  popularity.  It  is  a  good  thing  if  he  is 
popular,  for  that,  particularly  in  cases  where 
subscriptions  are  to  be  collected,  is  a  very 
considerable  asset.  But  he  ought  to  have  a 
good  business  head  and  judgment.  He  ought 
to  know  the  value  of  money  and  how  to  ex- 
pend it  to  secure  the  best  results  possible.  He 
should  be  a  good  correspondent  because  he 
will  have  to  represent  the  school  or  the  univer- 
sity in  dealing  with  other  schools  or  universi- 
ties through  the  medium  of  letters.  He  should 
be  fair-minded,  with  plenty  of  respect  for  his 
own  rights,  but  not  an  obstinate  man  who  can 
never  see  the  necessity  or  the  wisdom  of  a 
compromise.  He  should  be,  if  possible,  a  man 
who  is  friendly  with  the  captain,  because  un- 
less the  two  work  together  there  is  very  little 
chance  of   success   for  the  organization.     It 


MANAGEMENT  155 

might  appear  many  times  during  the  season 
that  the  captain  would  like  to  do  things  for 
his  nine  which  are  overexpensive,  and  there 
may  be  times,  on  the  other  hand,  when  the 
manager  perhaps  is  inclined  to  be  too  eco- 
nomical. With  the  two  conflicting  tendencies 
it  is  almost  essential  for  the  two  to  be  friends 
in  order  that  they  may  talk  it  over  and  work 
it  out  in  a  friendly  and  fair  spirit. 

Now,  how  is  such  a  man  to  be  found  and 
selected  for  manager?  In  service  teams  the 
athletic  officer  under  the  commandant  looks 
after  these  matters.  But  at  school  elections 
a  choice  must  be  made.  There  have  been  two 
methods  in  vogue,  neither  of  them  infallible, 
but  each  having  its  good  points.  First  and 
most  common  is  a  popular  school  or  college 
election  of  a  man  from  a  class  which  will  have 
two  years  still  in  school  or  college.  This  man 
is  chosen  as  assistant  manager.  If  during  the 
year  of  his  assistant  managership  he  performs 
his  duties  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  convincing 
proof  of  the  possession  of  the  above-named 
quaUties,  he  is,  at  the  end  of  his  first  year, 
elected  manager.  If  as  assistant  manager  he 
has  proved  inefficient  or  a  failure  in  any  way. 


156  ATHLETES  ALL 

then  he  is  not  elected,  but  some  other  man  is 
chosen.  It  can  easily  be  seen  in  this  latter 
case  there  is  considerable  risk,  as  the  man  has 
not  been  tested  out  in  the  work  of  the  assis- 
tant manager. 

The  second  way  is  to  select  the  man  through 
competition.  A  number  of  men  may  be 
chosen  to  try  for  the  place,  and  these  men 
work  under  the  existing  manager  through  the 
season  or  a  certain  fixed  period  of  time,  and 
the  man  who  makes  the  best  showing  in  this 
testing  secures  the  management's  approval, 
which  is  practically  equal  to  election.  The 
weakness  of  this  method  is  that  in  a  number 
of  cases  the  test  is  merely  that  of  securing 
subscriptions,  and  while  it  may  test  the  energy 
of  a  man  it  does  not  open  a  broad  field  to  him, 
and  much  may  depend  upon  his  own  circum- 
stances. Probably  a  combination  of  the  two 
would  work  out  best.  The  captain  is  never 
chosen  by  a  popular  vote  of  the  school  or 
class,  as  is  the  manager,  but  is  elected  by  the 
men  who  have  played  with  him  on  the  nine 
or  team.  This  is  usually  done  immediately 
after  the  close  of  the  season.  All  the  men 
who  have  played  in  the  important  games,  the 


MANAGEMENT  157 

games  where  initials  are  awarded,  are  entitled 
to  a  vote.  Some  of  these  men  return  for  the 
following  year  and  some  do  not.  The  places 
of  those  who  do  not  are  thus  taken  by  new 
men,  and  these  men,  it  can  be  seen,  will  serve 
under  a  captain  whom  they  did  not  choose. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  seldom  works  out  in 
a  detrimental  fashion,  for  the  newcomers  are 
as  a  rule  quite  satisfied  to  "make"  the  nine, 
without  being  overanxious  to  direct  its  policy. 

The  captains  for  first-year  organizations, 
freshmen  in  school  and  colleges,  are  often  ap- 
pointed by  the  upper  classmen  or  the  univer- 
sity management.  In  some  cases  these  offi- 
cers are  appointive  at  first,  and  as  the  men 
get  to  know  each  other,  an  election  is  later 
held. 

The  quality  probably  most  essential  for  a 
captain  is  a  reputation  for  perfect  squareness 
combined  with  force.  The  men  must  be  sure 
that  each  one  is  going  to  have  a  fair  and  equal 
chance,  that  no  favoritism  will  be  displayed, 
and  that  if  a  man  makes  good  he  will  get 
his  reward.  Then,  too,  the  members  of  the 
nine  should  be  pretty  thoroughly  convinced 
that  when  the  captain  says  a  thing,  he  is  going 


158  ATHLETES  ALL 

to  carry  it  out  and  is  not  to  have  one  mind 
one  day  and  another  another;  that  he  has 
some  definite  plan  of  campaign  in  his  mind, 
and  that  he  means  to  follow  it  to  the  end. 
The  captain,  however,  should  not  be  a  pig- 
headed man,  who,  when  he  sees  a  certain 
plan  of  his  is  working  badly,  is  unable,  on 
account  of  sheer  obstinacy,  to'  make  up  his 
mind  to  a  new  plan.  Several  captains  have 
wrecked  their  nines  on  this  rock  of  obstinacy. 
It  is  no  credit  to  a  man  to  be  so  forceful  and 
determined  that  he  goes  ahead  immindful  of 
this  dangerous  weakness  that  stands  as  a 
warning  in  his  path.  The  captain  should  have 
a  mind  which  is  able  to  size  up  a  situation 
quickly,  think  quickly,  and  reach  a  decision 
that  has  taken  into  consideration  all  the  fac- 
tors in  the  question.  Before  the  season  is 
half  through,  he  should  have  made  a  thorough 
study  of  his  men  so  that  he  knows  each  indi- 
vidual's special  quaHties,  and  when  and  how 
that  individual  should  be  used.  He  should 
know  the  dispositions  of  all  his  men,  par- 
ticularly of  batteries  in  baseball,  for  upon 
this  much  will  hinge.  He  should  have  a 
thorough  respect  for  the  manager  and  under- 


MANAGEMENT  159 

stand  that  managers'  duties  include  the  pro- 
vision for  all  expenditures. 

The  captain  should  have  the  respect  and 
sympathy  of  the  athletic  oflficer  and  com- 
mandant in  service  teams  and  in  civil  life  of 
the  authorities  of  the  school  or  college,  and 
he  should  return  this  respect  and  sympathy 
by  seeing  all  his  candidates  keep  up  to  the 
mark  in  their  studies. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  MANAGER 

In  the  last  chapter  we  took  up  the  matter 
of  choice  and  manner  of  election  of  managers 
and  captains  for  school  anid  college  organiza- 
tions. I  now  wish  to  expand  somewhat 
further  the  duties  of  these  two  individuals, 
giving,  if  possible,  an  insight  into  the  most 
approved  methods  so  that  the  boy  who  finds 
himself  for  the  first  time  a  manager  or  cap- 
tain shall  have  some  standard  to  work  toward 
and  feel  that  he  is  at  any  rate  trying  for  the 
best,  endeavoring  to  reach  the  ideal  demanded 
by  the  position. 

Taking  up  the  duties  of  the  manager  first: 
In  its  simplest  form  we  will  take  the  base- 
ball nine  that  is  purely  a  local  organization 
and  plays  no  games  away  from  home.  Let 
us  suppose  a  boy  is  elected  manager  of  such 
an  organization.  His  first  duty  is  to  see  that 
the  nine  has  a  field  upon  which  to  practise 
and  to  play  its  games.     It  may  be  that  the 

160 


THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  MANAGER  161 

nine  is  obliged  to  use  the  diamond  of  some 
other  organization  and  has  only  odd  times  at 
which  to  use  it.  The  manager's  first  duties 
then  are  to  find  out  about  this  and  see  what 
privileges  his  organization  can  enjoy.  If  he 
is  borrowing  the  diamond  of  some  college 
team  or  local  small  league  team,  it  is  very 
possible  that  he  may  make  arrangements 
with  the  manager  of  that  team,  giving  him 
the  right  to  have  his  players  on  that  diamond 
at  certain  hours  in  the  day  and  certain  days 
in  the  week.  If  he  maps  this  out  beforehand 
instead  of  simply  waiting  for  odd  times,  he 
will  find  that  instead  of  having  a  hit-or-miss 
field  he  gets  his  boys  on  for  their  practice, 
he  has  regular  hours  and  regular  days,  and 
his  net  result  is  twice  as  great  as  if  the  thing 
were  allowed  to  run  itself.  Possibly  the 
arrangement  is  that  he  shall  pay  a  small  sum 
for  the  use  of  the  diamond.  In  that  case  it 
is  probable  that  he  is  using  the  diamond  at 
times  when  there  is  no  other  use  for  it,  and  a 
proper  business  arrangement  with  the  owner 
of  the  ground  might  be  brought  about  through 
the  medium  of  friendship  with  the  captain 
of  the  more  prominent  nine.     It  is  also  pos- 


162  ATHLETES  ALL 

sible  that  the  boy  may  wish  the  use  of  the 
diamond  for  certain  games  with  other  local 
organizations.  In  that  case  he  must  arrange 
the  time  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  regular 
occupants  of  the  field.  In  planning  this  he 
must  also  take  into  consideration  his  oppo- 
nents, and  find  out  what  dates  which  are 
possible  to  him  are  agreeable  to  them,  and 
also  the  time  of  day  when  the  games  may  be 
played.  It  is  very  often  a  fact  that  the 
smaller  organizations  are  obliged  to  play 
their  games  in  the  morning.  Perhaps  ar- 
rangements can  be  made  for  Saturday  morn- 
ing when  there  is  a  regular  game  scheduled 
in  the  afternoon.  It  may  be  possible  that 
when  late  in  the  season  regular  games  are 
scheduled  for  4  o'clock  it  is  practicable  for  the 
smaller  organizations  to  start  their  games  at 
noon  and  finish  in  time  to  turn  over  the  dia- 
mond in  proper  season  for  the  regular  after- 
noon game.  The  matter  of  percentages  on 
gate  receipts,  the  question  of  whether  the 
ground  itself  will  furnish  a  caretaker  or 
ticket  taker,  or  whether  the  smaller  nine  must 
attend  to  these  affairs  must  be  settled  by  the 
manager.     At  any  rate,  it  is  his  duty  to  go 


THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  MANAGER  163 

over  all  these  matters  and  clear  them  up  so 
that  they  shall  not  burden  the  captain,  and 
yet  see  that  the  practice  may  be  had  at  reg- 
ular times  and  the  games  be  scheduled  for  his 
season's  work.  The  next  problem  that  faces 
him  is  possible  advertising  of  these  games.  It 
may  be  that  his  nine  is  so  small  in  the  matter 
of  importance  that  only  the  friends  of  the 
boys  who  are  playing  are  likely  to  come.  It 
is  still  possible  that  quite  a  number  of  the 
pleasure-loving  public  would  go  if  they  knew 
when  the  contest  was  to  take  place.  Here 
comes  in  the  problem  of  advertising  for  the 
manager,  and  it  may  be  well  worth  his  while 
to  see  the  local  newspapers  and  persuade  them 
to  give  him  reading  notices  of  his  game. 
Almost  any  local  paper  is  willing  to  do  this 
without  charge.  Certainly  it  can  be  accom- 
plished when  the  nine  is  likely  to  develop 
and  become  of  enough  special  importance  to 
pay  for  advertising. 

The  next  duty  of  the  manager  is  regarding 
uniforms  and  materials  for  the  game.  He 
should  first  find  out  whether  the  manager  of 
the  grounds  will  furnish  base-bags,  and  in 
case  he  will  not,  he  must  provide  his  own. 


1(54  ATHLETES  ALL 

Then  he  should  consider  the  matter  of  uni- 
forms. It  is  very  possible  that  his  nine  is 
not  rich  enough  to  have  a  complete  uniform. 
There  is  certainly  an  advantage  in  having 
some  article  of  the  uniform  common  to  all 
the  boys,  even  though  it  be  only  a  cap,  and 
very  few  nines  are  so  poor  that  they  cannot 
afford  at  least  that  amount  of  insignia  to 
designate  their  players.  The  manager  should 
get  prices  on  these  caps,  or  on  coats,  or  on 
complete  uniforms,  if  they  can  afford  it,  and 
by  writing  to  the  various  sporting-goods 
houses  he  will  improve  his  business  knowledge 
and  at  the  same  time  probably  be  able  to  get 
some  saving  in  price  through  competition. 
He  must  also  see  to  the  matter  of  balls  and 
bats,  both  for  playing  games  and  for  prac- 
tice. In  a  nine  of  small  pretensions  some  of 
the  boys  will  furnish  their  own  bats,  and  most 
of  them  will  furnish  their  own  gloves.  Pos- 
sibly they  will  all  have  to  subscribe  to  the 
catcher's  cage  and  protectors.  All  these, 
however,  come  in  the  province  of  the  manager, 
and  he  should  find  out  just  how  far  he  is 
likely  to  be  helped  out  by  the  individuals. 
When  he  has  determined  as  to  whether  he 


THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  IVIANAGER  165 

will  have  to  pay  rent  for  the  grounds,  or 
whether  he  can  have  them  for  nothing,  what 
parts  of  the  uniform  or  playing  paraphernalia 
must  come  out  of  a  common  purse,  he  can 
figure  out  how  much  money  he  needs  to  pro- 
tect himself  for  the  season's  work,  and  by 
collecting  it  from  the  boys  or  friends  of  the 
nine  he  starts  on  a  fair  business  basis,  and 
whatever  he  gets  in  on  gate  receipts  above 
the  immediate  expenses  of  the  game  may  go 
to  reimburse  the  general  expense  column. 
Then  it  is  the  duty  of  the  manager,  acting 
in  consultation  with  the  captain,  to  arrange 
about  umpires  and  other  details  regarding 
cleaning  up  the  field  or  things  of  that  kind; 
for  every  boy  should  realize  that  he  has  cer- 
tain duties  to  perform  toward  the  owner  of 
the  grounds  and  that  if  he  leaves  everything 
in  good  shape  when  he  finishes  he  is  much 
more  likely  to  be  allowed  to  use  the  ground 
again. 

So  much  for  the  most  simple  duties  of 
management.  The  next  step  is  when  a  nine 
makes  out-of-town  trips.  There  the  manager's 
duties  are  to  provide  the  tickets  and  see  that 
the  nine  knows  what  time  to  appear  for  the 


166  ATHLETES  ALL 

train,  and  that  every  boy  brings  the  articles 
that  are  necessary  for  him.  Out-of-town 
games  also  usually  involve  guarantees  of 
travelling  expenses,  or  some  arrangement 
about  the  division  of  gate  receipts,  and  it  is 
well  to  make  these  plans  several  days  ahead, 
so  that  there  may  be  no  difference  of  opinion 
at  the  time  of  the  game.  Every  manager 
should  get  his  agreements  in  writing,  and  put 
his  own  acceptances  in  the  same  form. 

Next  we  come  to  the  school  nine,  and  here 
the  only  difference  is  that  the  nine  is  usually 
supported  by  subscription  from  the  school  at 
large,  and  it  is  the  manager's  duty  to  solicit 
and  collect  these  subscriptions.  For  this  pur- 
pose he  should  have  a  small  book  with  stubs, 
so  that  he  can  enter  the  amount  of  the  sub- 
scription, give  the  subscriber  a  proper  receipt, 
and  retain  a  written  record.  In  this  case  he 
generally  graduates  to  the  form  of  manage- 
ment where  a  certain  amount  of  bookkeeping 
is  essential,  and  he  should  enter  his  expenses 
and  receipts  in  such  form  that  he  can  make 
his  annual  report  to  the  school.  From  this 
it  is  only  a  step  to  the  college  organization, 
and  the  boy  who  has  begun  with  a  small  local 


THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  MANAGER  167 

nine  and  who  has  later  managed  a  school  nine 
is  a  fair  candidate  for  the  management  of  a 
college  nine.  One  thing  for  him  to  bear  in 
mind  in  all  these  questions  is  that  the  more 
he  carries  out  the  exact  detail  of  the  manage- 
ment and  plans  ahead,  the  more  he  is  edu- 
cating himself  for  good  work  in  whatever 
position  he  may  be  placed. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   DUTIES  OF  THE   CAPTAIN 

We  come  now  to  the  position  of  captain: 
The  same  sequence  of  the  small  local  nine  up 
to  the  prominent  college  nine  prevails  ex- 
actly as  in  the  case  of  the  manager.  For 
this  reason  we  will  start  again  with  the  local 
boy  organization.  It  is  a  captain's  duty  to 
take  charge  of  the  training  of  his  men;  to 
see  that  they  are  on  hand  at  the  specified 
hour  for  practice;  to  see  that  every  boy  gets 
a  chance  to  show  his  capabilities;  and,  finally, 
when  he  has  sifted  out  his  material,  to  place 
them  in  the  proper  positions,  and  then  to 
educate  each  boy  along  the  most  approved 
lines  of  playing  that  position.  The  captain 
should  always  be  elected  by  the  players,  and 
that,  too,  at  the  very  beginning.  By  this 
election  they  promise  allegiance  to  that  man. 
They  agree  to  follow  his  lead,  to  respond  to 
his  orders,  and  to  do  it  cheerfully  and  will- 
ingly.    Harmony  in  an  organization,  no  mat- 

168 


THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  CAPTAIN  169 

ter  how  small  a  one  it  may  be,  is  the  only  sure 
road  to  success,  and  the  sooner  boys  learn 
respect  for  their  captain  and  implicit  obedi- 
ence to  his  orders  the  earlier  they  will  fit 
themselves  for  better  work  as  they  grow  older 
and  more  accomplished  players.  Any  col- 
lege captain  or  any  league  manager  will  tell 
a  boy  what  a  nuisance  an  insubordinate 
player  always  makes  of  himself,  and  how 
little  such  players  are  tolerated  on  good  nines. 
In  a  boys'  organization  where  the  boys  are 
very  young  there  is  apt  to  be  a  tendency 
toward  each  boy  thinking  that  he  is  going  to 
have  his  own  way  and  be  his  own  captain. 
The  sooner  the  captain  settles  this  matter, 
once  and  for  all,  the  better,  else  he  is  going  to 
have  trouble  all  through  the  season. 

Having  made  this  clear,  the  captain's  next 
duty  is  to  see  that  his  men  practise  properly 
and  in  sufficient  amount,  and  that  no  one 
boy  is  overlooked  or  overworked.  It  is  usually 
a  mistake  to  let  pitchers  who  are  relied  upon 
to  do  the  pitching  for  the  nine  do  too  much 
of  the  pitching  for  the  batsmen,  but  in  small 
organizations  some  portion  of  this  work  must 
be  done  by  the  regular  pitchers  or  else  the 


170  ATHLETES  ALL 

nine  will  get  very  poor  practice  in  batting. 
It  is  the  captain's  duty  to  see  that  these  men 
take  proper  turns  in  doing  this  hard  work, 
and  tliat  no  man  because  he  is  willing  and 
unselfish  is  forced  to  do  more  than  his  share 
of  it.  I  cannot  put  it  too  strongly,  that  the 
usual  weakness  of  small  and  minor  organiza- 
tions is  in  the  batting,  and  here  the  captain 
should  spend  infinite  time  and  patience  on  his 
men.  It  is  foolish  to  make  every  boy  bat  in  a 
certain  form,  but  his  faults  may  be  corrected. 
For  instance,  the  two  faults  most  common 
to  batsmen  are  what  is  known  as  *'shy  foot'*; 
that  is,  drawing  the  forward  foot  away  when 
the  ball  is  delivered  instead  of  stepping  up 
and  meeting  the  ball  squarely;  the  other  is 
dropping  the  shoulder  farthest  away  from  the 
pitcher,  so  that  the  bat  describes  more  or  less 
of  an  arc  and  the  result  is  strikes,  fouls,  or 
little  flies.  These  two  habits  once  eradicated 
almost  any  boy  with  a  good  eye  can  become 
a  batsman  if  he  will  spend  enough  time  and 
thought  on  the  subject. 

Another  duty  of  the  captain  is  to  agree  to 
ground  rules  whenever  a  match  is  to  be  played 
on  a  field  that  requires  such  rules.     He  should 


THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  CAPTAIN  171 

arrange  this  with  the  opposing  captain,  if 
possible,  before  the  day  of  the  game.  If  im- 
possible to  do  that,  he  should  arrange  it  before 
the  toss.  These  matters  being  arranged,  the 
captain's  duty  is  to  toss,  or  rather  call  the 
toss  of  the  umpire,  to  determine  which  nine 
goes  to  the  bat  first.  This  having  been  set- 
tled, the  captain  takes  charge  of  his  own  nine, 
and  it  is  his  duty  to  interfere  as  little  as  possi- 
ble with  the  opponents  in  any  way,  to  avoid 
discussion  or  any  bandying  of  words.  In 
other  words,  in  common  language,  to  "mind 
his  own  business"  and  let  the  other  nine  mind 
theirs.  Any  talking  at  an  opposing  pitcher 
to  rattle  him  or  exchanging  facetious  com- 
ments with  players  of  the  other  side  is  poor 
business  and  a  breach  of  good  manners.  In 
handling  his  men  the  captain  should  be  ever 
ready  to  place  his  fielders  in  proper  position, 
to  change  them  according  to  what  he  knows 
of  the  opposing  batsmen,  and  where  it  is  nec- 
essary, to  encourage  his  men  after  an  error 
or  something  of  that  kind.  At  the  bat  he 
should  teach  his  men  to  have  plenty  of  initi- 
ative of  their  own,  but  he  should  be  ever 
ready  to  tell  a  batsman  when  he  is  coming 


17i  ATHLETES  ALL 

up  whether  he  wishes  him  to  bunt,  to  instruct 
the  coach  whom  he  sends  out  to  the  bases 
when  and  how  he  wishes  the  runner  to  be 
sent  down,  and,  in  addition,  to  handle  the 
strategy  of  the  game. 

The  diflBculties  which  will  come  to  the  cap- 
tain are  many,  and  while  experience  is  the 
only  teacher,  there  are  few  captains  who  would 
not  have  benefited  had  they  known  some  of 
the  situations  which  were  likely  to  confront 
them  before  they  came  up.  In  the  first  place, 
the  captain  must  work  with  the  manager 
toward  a  businesslike  method  of  running  the 
nine.  He  must  realize  that  no  nine,  no  mat- 
ter how  rich,  can  have  everything  that  is 
wanted,  and  he  must  keep  down  expenses  to 
the  smallest  point  compatible  with  the  inter- 
ests of  the  nine.  Furthermore,  it  is  unfortu- 
nately often  true  that  the  captain  must  keep 
the  expenses  down  lower  than  that  point.  In 
other  words,  there  will  not  be  funds  enough 
to  meet  what  seem  to  be  the  necessities  of  the 
nine,  and  then  the  captain  must  work  with 
the  manager  to  eliminate  every  possible  ex- 
travagance and  to  cut  off  things  which  are 
least    essential.     He    should    not    allow    the 


THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  CAPTAIN  173 

members  of  his  nine  to  criticise  the  manage- 
ment, but  should  back  up  the  business  end 
with  all  his  injBuence. 

The  question  of  discipline  among  his  men 
is  paramount,  and  here  he  must  exercise  dis- 
cretion and  not  invite  trouble;  but  when  he 
has  once  made  up  his  mind  that  a  certain  move 
is  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  organiza- 
tion he  must  carry  it  out,  and  while  it  is  not 
necessary  to  do  this  roughshod  he  must  ac- 
complish his  end,  and  if  necessary  meet  with 
some  antagonism  and  conquer  it.  A  weak- 
kneed  captain  is  worse  than  no  captain  at  all, 
and  any  boy  will  find  that  his  nine  respects 
him  proportionately  to  his  strength  of  char- 
acter. He  should  not  be  ashamed  to  change 
his  mind  or  policy  when  he  finds  he  is  making 
a  mistake;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  should 
not  let  any  one  feel  that  he  can  be  influenced 
regardless  of  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  the  case 
by  any  amount  of  argument  from  his  men. 
The  great  thing  is  to  start  right,  and  the 
sooner  he  impresses  his  force  of  character  upon 
his  men  and  that,  too,  without  self-conceit  or 
aggressiveness,  but  calmly  and  determinedly, 
the    sooner    the    rough    places    will    become 


174  ATHLETES  ALL 

smooth  and  the  better  work  his  nine  will  do. 
A  man  who  simply  represents  the  views  of 
the  last  person  who  talked  with  him  and, 
hence,  becomes  a  weathercock,  is  useless  as  a 
leader  of  a  nine.  Experience  has  taught  this 
to  many  organizations,  and  the  successful  ones 
have  usually  been  those  which  have  had  lead- 
ers who  have  maintained  the  strictest  disci- 
pline tempered  with  good  judgment.  It  has 
been  the  general  consensus  of  opinion  of  all 
our  military  authorities  that  this  knowledge 
and  experience  of  leadership  in  athletic  organ- 
izations has  been  the  greatest  factor  in  de- 
veloping our  men  and  youths  into  competent 
oflScers  in  the  service.  Any  boy  who  has  the 
opportunity  to  become  captain  and  handle  a 
ball  nine  may  congratulate  himself  upon  the 
fact  that  in  doing  this  work  he  is  preparing 
himself  for  larger  fields  of  endeavor,  and  if  he 
learns  the  secrets  of  leadership  here  he  will 
carry  them  on  into  the  larger  things  of  life. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

HOW  TO  CONDUCT  AN  ATHLETIC  MEET 

With  the  great  stimulation  of  interest  in 
track  games  of  late  years,  owing  to  the  Inter- 
collegiate championships  as  well  as  the  Olym- 
pic games,  and  last,  but  not  least,  to  the 
wide  spread  of  these  sports  throughout  the 
camps,  cantonments,  and  naval  stations  of 
the  country,  many  a  boy  has  studied  into  the 
question,  and  thousands  more  than  formerly 
have  taken  part  in  such  contests.  Now,  in 
track  games  as  well  as  in  the  other  sports,  it 
is  the  part  of  wisdom  of  every  boy  who  is 
going  into  these  contests  at  school  or  in  the 
service,  and,  in  fact,  whether  he  is  going  to 
enter  or  not,  to  understand  thoroughly  the 
rules  of  the  games,  because  it  may  be  that 
with  his  development  later,  either  at  college 
or  elsewhere,  he  will  be  able  to  become  a  good 
performer  at  some  one  of  these  specialties.  A 
crack  runner,  jumper,  or  weight  putter  has  a 

175 


176  ATHLETES  ALL 

most  enviable  reputation,  and  as  a  rule  the 
physical  development  contingent  upon  taking 
part  in  these  sports  is  excellent.  Moreover,  it 
was  found  during  the  recent  war  that  hardly 
one  officer  out  of  a  thousand  had  any  definite 
idea  of  running  off  an  athletic  meet  among  his 
men,  and  the  call  for  officers  who  could  handle 
these  affairs  was  loud  and  persistent. 

It  would  be  well  for  boys  in  summer  and 
fall  to  organize  athletic  meetings  wherever 
they  can  get  together  a  group  of  contestants 
and  a  track  to  run  upon.  Most  of  the  tracks 
of  the  colleges  are  not  in  use  in  the  late  sum- 
mer and  could  be  secured  for  schoolboys* 
meets  without  much  difficulty.  Briefly,  what 
is  necessary  for  the  contestants  and  judges  to 
know  can  be  summed  up  in  a  few  words,  and 
contestants  and  judges  will  be  able  to  carry 
out  their  contests  under  these  suggestions  in 
an  orderly  and  fair  manner. 

First,  as  to  weight  putting:  In  the  big  con- 
tests like  the  IntercoUegiates  there  are  always 
two  days — Friday,  the  day  of  trials,  and  Sat- 
urday, the  finals.  In  putting  the  shot  on 
Friday  the  field-judges  allow  each  contestant 
three  trials,  and  out  of  those  who  do  the  best 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  AN  ATHLETIC  MEET    177 

in  the  three  trials  five  go  into  the  finals  on 
Saturday.  These  five  are  then  allowed  three 
trials  and  the  best  four  of  the  two  afternoons 
— that  is,  if  a  man  does  not  better  his  put  of 
Friday  it  still  stands — the  best  four  then  go 
into  three  additional  trials,  and  the  best  per- 
formance of  the  two  afternoons  decides  the 
contest.  As  most  boys  know,  the  shot  is  put 
from  a  circle  seven  feet  in  diameter.  This 
circle  may  have  a  wooden  framework  around 
it  or  be  simply  whitewashed.  If  the  compet- 
itor's foot  goes  outside  the  circle  it  is  a  foul. 
The  shot  is  a  sixteen-pound  metal  sphere. 

In  throwing  the  hammer  the  same  rules  pre- 
vail as  in  the  shot,  regarding  the  trials  and 
the  finals.  The  hammer  and  handle  (the  han- 
dle is  usually  made  of  wire  and  not  more  than 
four  feet  in  length)  must  weigh  at  least  six- 
teen pounds.  The  hammer  is  thrown  from  a 
seven-foot  circle.  If  the  hammer  breaks  in 
making  an  attempt,  the  contestant  is  allowed 
another  trial.  This  means  if  the  hammer 
breaks  in  the  hands  while  making  the  attempt 
and  not  if  the  hammer  breaks  when  it  lands. 

In  the  broad  jump  in  the  preliminaries  each 
man  is  allowed  three  trials,  and  the  best  four 


178  ATHLETES  ALL 

of  these  have  three  additional  trials.  If  any 
part  of  the  competitor's  shoe  is  over  the 
scratch  line,  which  is  the  outer  edge  of  a  joist 
set  level  with  the  ground  as  a  take-off  board, 
it  is  a  foul.  The  length  of  the  contestant's 
jump  is  from  the  outer  edge  of  this  joist  to 
the  point  nearest  it  that  is  touched  by  the 
jumper  during  his  jump.  The  ground  is  well 
broken  up  and  made  soft  and  the  mark  is 
pretty  manifest.  If  the  jumper  falls  back,  the 
mark  made  by  him  on  falling  which  is  near- 
est the  take-off  board  is  the  mark  of  his  jump. 
In  the  high  jump  it  is  customary  in  the 
Intercollegiate  rules  to  hold  on  Friday  three 
trials  for  each  contestant  at  each  height,  and 
the  best  five  of  Friday  compete  again  on  Sat- 
urday, the  event  being  decided  by  the  contest 
of  Saturday,  the  jumps  on  Friday  not  count- 
ing except  for  a  record  or  for  the  purpose  of 
quahfying.  If  a  tie  occurs  on  Friday  that 
would  result  in  qualifying  more  than  five  men 
for  the  Saturday  contest,  the  tie  must  be 
jumped  off  on  Friday.  In  the  high  jump  it 
will  be  seen  from  this  that  the  event  is  decided 
by  the  Saturday  contest.  In  jumping  the 
high   jump    the    contestant   may    omit   any 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  AN  ATHLETIC  MEET    179 

height  if  he  hkes,  but  he  cannot  have  the  bar 
lowered  to  try  at  the  height  he  omitted;  that 
is,  he  must  jump  continuously  as  the  bar  is 
raised  for  the  other  competitors,  but  if  he 
omits  any  height  he  must  take  the  next  height, 
and  cannot  go  back  to  try  the  lower  height. 
When  a  contestant  has  taken  one  trial  at  a 
given  height  he  cannot  omit  the  other  two 
trials,  but  must  finish  his  three  trials  at  the 
height  he  commenced. 

The  rules  regarding  pole-vault  are  the  same 
as  those  regarding  the  high  jump.  Two 
balks — that  is,  a  man  starting  and  running 
under  the  bar — count  as  one  try.  A  con- 
testant breaking  his  pole  is  not  considered  a 
trial.  A  contestant  may  not  raise  his  lower 
hand  over  the  other  during  a  try.  He  can 
bring  his  lower  hand  up  to  his  other  hand, 
but  not  over  it.  He  cannot  raise  thfe  upper 
hand.  Contestants  are  allowed  to  dig  holes 
for  their  poles  if  they  so  desire.  Pegs  that 
are  set  in  the  uprights  should  extend  out  not 
over  two  inches,  and  the  cross-bar  should  be 
marked  "top"  and  "bottom,"  and  as  it  is 
replaced  after  each  jump  the  side  "top"  must 
be  turned  up.     It  is  possible  for  a  field-judge 


180  ATHLETES  ALL 

to  excuse  a  contestant  called  off  for  a  track 
event,  and  after  that  event  he  may  come  back 
and  take  his  missed  trials. 

The  officials  at  track  games  consist  of  the 
clerk  of  the  course,  who  really  has  entire 
charge  and  designates  to  his  assistants  their 
specific  work.  Then  there  are  the  field-judges 
who  decide  all  field  events,  such  as  the  high 
jump,  pole-vault,  broad  jump,  throwing  the 
hammer,  and  putting  the  shot.  There  are 
four  judges  at  the  finish  in  the  track  contests 
and  three  timekeepers.  There  are  one  or 
more  starters.  The  clerk  of  the  course,  with 
his  assistants,  sees  that  the  men  come  out 
and  go  to  the  mark,  he  or  his  assistants  check 
them  off,  and  after  they  have  answered  their 
names  they  are  then  in  control  of  the  starter. 
There  is  a  chief  scorer  with  his  assistants  who 
keeps  a  complete  record  of  all  the  times,  an- 
nounces the  names  of  the  next  contestant  in 
the  field  events,  and  keeps  a  complete  record 
of  all  the  contestants  that  start  and  all  that 
finish,  recording  fouls  and  the  like.  The 
referee  is  the  final  authority  on  all  matters. 
He  has  several  inspectors  as  assistants  to  him 
who  take  positions  in  the  track  events  at 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  AN  ATHLETIC  MEET    181 

various  points  around  the  course  to  report 
any  jostling,  shoving  or  crowding,  or  fouls  of 
any  nature.  The  inspectors  also  report  the 
number  of  hurdles  knocked  down.  The  mar- 
shals have  control  of  the  individuals  who  are 
on  the  field  when  not  competing. 

There  are  usually  three  timekeepers,  two 
on  one  side  of  the  track  and  one  on  the  other. 
If  the  watches  disagree,  the  slowest  time  is 
usually  taken. 

In  all  running  races  in  important  contests 
like  the  IntercoUegiates  there  should  be  four 
judges  at  the  finish,  two  standing  at  one  end 
of  the  tape  and  two  at  the  other.  The  judges 
in  case  of  disagreement  meet  together  and  the 
majority  decides.  These  judges  pick  first, 
second,  third,  and  fourth  places.  One  thing 
that  is  often  forgotten  in  track  contests  when 
one  sees  a  man  rush  forward,  endeavoring  to 
break  the  tape,  is  that  the  finish  is  not  the 
tape  but  a  line  drawn  on  the  ground  across 
the  track  from  post  to  post,  and  a  contestant 
is  not  considered  to  have  finished  the  race  un- 
less his  entire  body  crosses  that  line.  If  a 
man  falls  and  only  part  of  his  body  is  over 
the  line,  he  is  not  considered  to  have  finished 


182  ATHLETES  ALL 

the  race.  In  the  hurdles,  if  a  competitor 
knocks  down  three  or  more,  or  any  part  of 
three  or  more  hurdles  in  the  race,  he  is  dis- 
qualified. 

In  all  running  races  contestants  are  obliged 
to  keep  their  own  courses,  that  is,  in  sprint 
races,  100 -yard  races,  and  220 -yard  races 
lanes  are  marked  off  by  tape  or  string,  and  a 
contestant  must  keep  in  his  own  lane.  In  the 
long-distance  races  no  such  lanes  are  marked 
out,  but  a  competitor  may  be  disqualified  by 
the  referee  for  jostling,  running  across,  or  in 
any  way  impeding  another  competitor,  and 
where  there  are  contests  like  the  Intercolle- 
giates  it  is  possible  for  all  the  competitors  rep- 
resenting a  member  of  an  association  in  any 
one  event  to  be  disquahfied  by  the  referee  for 
the  act  of  any  one  of  them.  It  is  easy  to  see 
why  this  rule  must  prevail,  as  in  distance 
races  a  man  who  himself  might  be  unable  to 
win  might  foul  an  opponent  and  some  other 
of  this  man's  own  track  team  thereby  win  out. 


V 

TRACK,  GYMNASIUM,  AND  FIELD 


CHAPTER  XIX 
OLYMPIC   GAMES 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  about  the 
wonderful  Olympic  games  held  at  Stockholm, 
but  their  effect  upon  athletics,  and  particu- 
larly upon  boys'  sports,  promises  to  be  so 
wide-spread  that  a  careful  consideration  of  the 
results  should  be  considered.  In  the  first 
place,  J.  E.  Meredith,  the  modern  schoolboy 
from  Mercersburg,  later  a  Penn  athlete  and 
finally  an  American  aviator,  set  a  new  Olym- 
pic and  world's  record  of  1  minute  51tV  sec- 
onds for  the  800-metre  race.  In  the  final 
heat  this  schoolboy  was  lined  up  against 
Braun,  Germany's  noted  runner,  also  Brock, 
of  Canada,  while  the  other  American  contend- 
ers were  the  veteran  Sheppard,  Davenport, 
Putnam,  Edmundson,  and  Caldwell.  The 
starting  system  used  at  the  Olympic  games 
unfortunately  was  not  the  same  as  that  used 
in  this  country.  There  was  no  "  setting  back  " 
for  a  false  start.     The  result  under  this  sys- 

185 


186  ATHLETES  ALL 

tern  has  always  been  that  men  endeavor  to 
get  away  in  advance,  that  is,  "beat  the  pis- 
tol," and  it  is  pretty  sure  that  even  when  they 
are  started  there  is  a  very  distinct  advantage 
to  some  and  disadvantage  to  others.  Now, 
as  it  happened  in  this  race,  Sheppard  got  the 
start,  but  Meredith  set  out  to  overhaul  him, 
with  the  result  that  at  the  quarter-mile  post 
Meredith  was  practically  at  Sheppard's  side, 
and  they  had  covered  the  distance  in  52J/2 
seconds.  As  they  came  into  the  stretch  Shep- 
pard and  Braun  were  both  making  their  efforts, 
and  less  than  100  yards  from  home  Sheppard 
was  leading,  with  the  German  second  and 
Meredith  third.  Then  the  schoolboy  began 
his  work.  Like  a  lion  he  fought  his  way  up 
on  the  leaders,  and  the  veteran  Sheppard  and 
the  noted  German  "cracked"  just  at  the 
finish,  and  Meredith  came  by  a  winner  by  a 
foot.  The  German  had  dropped,  Sheppard 
just  got  over,  and  Davenport  was  only  a 
couple  of  feet  behind  Sheppard. 

It  was  indeed  a  wonderful  performance  and 
means  much  to  the  schoolboys  all  over  the 
country,  but  a  word  of  caution  should  go 
with  it.     Meredith  is  an  exceptional  boy,  and 


OLYMPIC  GAMES  187 

what  he  can  stand  in  the  way  of  training  and 
running  is  not  to  be  taken  as  a  standard  for 
boys  of  less  sturdy  physique.  The  lesson 
really  to  be  learned  is  that  it  is  possible  for 
even  a  schoolboy  to  defeat  the  veteran  run- 
ners of  the  world.  But  it  takes  some  excep- 
tional natural  ability  upon  which  the  founda- 
tions can  be  laid.  We  must  avoid  what  the 
English  criticise  in  us,  and  at  times  criticise 
fairly,  and  that  is  the  exaggeration  of  an  eager- 
ness for  victory,  which  eagerness  is  highly 
commendable  until  it  becomes  an  overeager- 
ness;  in  other  words,  until  either  the  mind 
or  the  body  suffers  under  the  pressure.  The 
Englishman  has  been  forced  to  learn  that 
more  specialization  in  training  is  necessary  if 
he  is  to  compete  with  the  carefully  organized 
systems  that  are  coming  in  in  all  sports. 
The  American,  on  the  other  hand,  should 
consider  with  very  careful  attention  a  letter 
written  by  an  Englishman  in  which  he  says 
"Americans  have  carried  athletics  beyond 
normal  limits  and  strive  only  for  records. 
The  mark  of  human  endurance  has  been 
passed  and  many  of  the  boys  after  winning 
collapse  and  are  carried  from  the  field." 


188  ATHLETES  ALL 

This,  he  further  says,  is  "a  tragedy  and  a 
joke;  a  tragedy  to  the  lives  of  the  boys,  and 
a  joke  because  the  real  point  in  athletic  de- 
velopment has  been  missed."  He  thereupon 
calls  upon  England  and  the  Englishmen  to  be 
satisfied  and  stay  as  they  are,  and  concludes 
with  the  statement  that  if  they  do  this  ''Eng- 
land's boys  will  be  stronger  fathers  of  a  less 
nervous  and  happier  race!"  But  this  war 
has  taught  us  many  lessons  in  which  the 
English  and  American  athletes  have  shared 
alike. 

I  would  say,  then,  to  the  boy  athlete,  don't 
take  it  to  heart  if  the  physical  director  of  your 
school  or  college  or  if  the  athletic  trainer 
tells  you  to  go  slow  and  drop  out  for  this 
year  and  work  up  to  the  next.  Our  greatest 
tendency  for  the  present  is  to  overdo,  to 
drive  the  machine  at  too  great  a  pace,  and 
this  is  just  as  true  of  the  boys  in  their  athletics 
as  it  is  of  their  fathers  in  business  and  their 
mothers  in  social  pleasures.  He  who  sounds 
a  note  of  warning  may  not  be  heeded,  but 
it  is  time  that  warning  is  sounded  and  was 
observed. 

The  fable  of  the  tortoise  and  the  hare  is 


OLYMPIC  GAMES  189 

repeated  over  and  over  again  in  play  and 
work  as  well.  A  boy  should  realize  that  as 
in  all  his  sports  a  preparation  or  training  is 
necessary,  so  it  is  vital  that  he  should  under- 
stand that  the  preparation  for  his  life's  work, 
or  even  for  his  development  in  college,  his 
school  discipline  and  sports  are  only  the  train- 
ing— the  preparation — and  if  this  training  be 
overdone,  if  he  attempts  too  much,  too  soon, 
he  is  only  making  the  foolish  mistake  of  run- 
ning the  early  part  of  his  race  too  fast,  and 
others  will  surely  pass  him  when,  before  the 
tape  is  reached,  he  finds  himself  fading  away  ? 
Some  boys  stand  training  better  than  others 
— can  do  more  work  without  going  stale — 
but  every  one  should  remember  that  in  school 
athletics  undertraining  is  preferable  to  over- 
training, and  the  majority  of  failures  come 
from  overdoing  and  "going  fine"  rather  than 
from  insufficient  work.  A  boy  should  be 
frank  with  his  trainer.  He  should  not  make 
the  mistake  of  believing  that  it  is  the  part  of 
wisdom  to  deceive  that  trainer  or  physical 
director,  but  rather  even  at  the  present  seem- 
ing confession  of  weakness  to  admit  an  over- 
effort  and  time  given  an  opportunity  of  re- 


190  ATHLETES  ALL 

pairing  the  defect.  He  should  never  be  fear- 
ful lest  his  pluck  or  courage  should  be  ques- 
tioned when  he  tells  the  truth  to  those  who 
are  responsible  for  his  physical  condition. 
He  should  realize  that  they  are  as  anxious 
as  he  can  be  to  make  the  best  possible  show- 
ing, but  not  at  the  expense  of  later  usefulness. 
Meredith  has  set  a  high  standard  and  every 
boy  who  admires  that  work  of  his  should  feel 
proud  of  him  and  should  desire  to  do  some 
bit  of  work  in  his  own  line  in  the  same  effec- 
tive way,  but  he  should  be  careful  not  to 
make  the  mistake  of  trying  to  reach  that  goal 
by  short  cuts  or  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  sound 
body. 


CHAPTER  XX 
CROSS-COUNTRY  RUNNING 

There  is  always  an  opportunity  for  a 
young  man  to  develop  himself  physically, 
even  though  he  may  seem  to  have  very  few 
chances.  For  instance:  it  certainly  is  not 
possible  for  every  schoolboy  to  get  athletic 
sport  with  others  the  year  around.  Baseball 
nines,  football  teams,  and  crews  all  require 
the  co-operation  of  a  number  of  other  boys. 
Track  events  are  somewhat  different,  but 
even  there  some  accessories  are  necessary. 

But  almost  any  young  man  may  enjoy 
cross-country  running  by  himself,  and  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  imagine  the  condition 
where  a  boy  cannot  get  exercise  and  develop- 
ment of  this  character.  Perhaps  this  is  diffi- 
cult in  a  crowded  city,  but  even  here  it  is  far 
from  impossible.  In  fact,  I  have  seen  a 
crowd  of  fifty  or  sixty  boys  coming  through 
Broad  Street  of  Philadelphia  past  the  Pennsyl- 

191 


19;2  ATHLETES  ALL 

vania  Railroad  Station  in  one  of  these  runs. 
But  real  cross-country  running  is,  of  course, 
more  desirable  than  city  pavements,  and  the 
sameness  of  running  through  ordinary  streets 
is  much  less  inspiring  than  running  out  in  the 
open  country.  Any  one  can  tell  how  far  he 
has  run  by  carrying  a  pedometer — a  little 
watch-like  attachment  which  is  now  made  at 
a  very  reasonable  price  so  that  any  boy  can 
have  one  without  saving  up  his  money  very 
long.  Of  course  in  cross-country  running  one 
of  these  instruments  may  not  keep  the  dis- 
tance with  absolute  accuracy,  but  for  all 
intents  and  purposes  it  will  be  close  enough. 
The  question  arises:  How  far  ought  a  youth 
to  run.'^  That  will  depend  entirely  upon  his 
condition  and  amount  of  practice,  as  well  as 
the  country  over  which  he  goes.  It  is  like 
all  other  athletic  sports.  A  youth  should  be- 
gin with  jogging  pretty  easily  and  not  over- 
doing it,  but  after  two  or  three  weeks  he  will 
find  himself  getting  in  condition  and  his  dis- 
tance can  be  proportionately  increased.  In 
fact,  cross-country  running  for  any  boy  is  far 
better  performed  during  the  first  year  or  two 
without  any  conditions  of  extreme  competi- 


CROSS-COUNTRY  RUNNING  193 

tion,  like  championships  or  rival  school  runs. 
When  a  man  is  hardened  to  cross-country- 
running  and  has  done  it  for  two  or  three  years, 
he  can  then  go  into  competition. 

The  dress  for  this  kind  of  running  depends, 
of  course,  upon  the  season  of  the  year,  but 
two  cautions  should  be  borne  in  mind,  for, 
many  a  cross-country  runner  makes  a  mis- 
take by  erring  on  one  or  the  other.  It  is  not 
an  unfamiliar  sight  to  see  a  group  of  these 
runners  coming  along  on  a  cold  day  in  the 
fall  dressed  as  thinly  as  though  it  were  mid- 
summer. Now  I  doubt  very  much  if  a  man 
who  was  in  fair  flesh  and  who  did  not  train 
off  very  much  under  running  would  find  any 
disadvantages  in  this,  for  the  exercise  would 
keep  him  comfortably  warm  after  he  was 
started ;  but  a  man  or  boy  who  is  rather  thin, 
while  he  would  not  take  cold  from  this  ex- 
posure under  exercise,  would  find  his  powers 
of  endurance  somewhat  affected.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  most  foolish  thing  possible  is 
for  a  cross-country  man  to  wear  heavy  clothes 
so  that  he  is  in  a  continuous  perspiration, 
unless  he  is  merely  using  his  run  to  reduce 
flesh.     Especial  care    and   attention   should 


194  ATHLETES  ALL 

be  given  to  the  feet,  for  here  the  misery  of  a 
blistered  heel  or  a  raw  spot  can  well  be  appre- 
ciated. Every  youth  probably  has  a  pair  of 
shoes  that  are  so  well  adapted  and  moulded 
to  his  feet  that  no  amount  of  running  or  walk- 
ing in  them  would  produce  any  trouble.  If 
so,  these  are  the  shoes  for  him  to  wear  even 
though  he  has  to  have  a  new  sole  put  on  them 
or  spikes  or  hobnails;  then,  he  should  break 
in  a  new  pair  gradually  until  they  are  as 
pliable  as  the  old  ones.  In  case  of  a  bad 
abrasion,  especial  care  must  be  taken  against 
infection,  and  while  a  man  can  protect  a  raw 
spot  by  a  bunion  plaster  strapped  over  it 
with  a  surgeon's  tape  or  bicycle  tape,  it  is  a 
point  of  wisdom  to  take  it  easy  until  the  spot 
heals. 

In  gauging  the  distance  to  be  run,  and  the 
amount  of  speed,  effort,  etc.,  the  best  measure- 
ment for  each  youth  is  to  come  in  comfortably 
tired  but  not  exhausted.  His  condition  may 
be  judged  by  two  points:  whether  he  has  a 
good  appetite  and  whether  he  sleeps  soundly 
and  well.  If  he  finds  he  is  losing  weight  and 
that  he  is  not  hungry  when  the  time  comes  to 
eat,  or  that  he  does  not  sleep  well  or  feel  re- 


CROSS-COUNTRY  RUNNING  195 

freshed  after  a  night  in  bed,  he  should  make 
up  his  mind  that  he  is  overdoing  it. 

Of  course  the  best  way  to  develop  a  special 
talent  in  cross-country  running  is  to  have  a 
first-class  man  running  with  the  others.  Un- 
derstand, this  is  not  essential,  but  it  can  readily 
be  appreciated  that  the  stimulus  of  competi- 
tion and  careful  development  can  be  brought 
about  in  this  way  when  it  could  not  be  effected 
by  any  other  means.  Now  the  advantages  of 
this  cross-country  running  lie  in  the  fact  that 
it  develops  a  man  for  any  sort  of  athletic  work 
he  is  likely  to  go  into,  and  especially  for  the 
service.  It  is  splendid,  of  course,  for  distance 
runners  in  track  events;  it  is  an  excellent 
preparation  for  crew  men;  it  is  a  fine  way  of 
keeping  in  condition  the  year  around  for  foot- 
ball and  baseball  men,  and,  finally,  if  a  man 
or  boy  goes  into  no  other  athletics,  it  is  one 
of  the  best  of  the  sports  possible  where  no 
special  apparatus  or  other  men  are  necessary. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
GETTING  READY  FOR  OUTDOOR  WORK 

While  the  first  beginnings  of  spring  are  on 
the  way  every  healthy,  normal  youth  is  look- 
ing forward  to  the  time  when  his  outdoor 
sports  begin  in  earnest  again.  His  hockey 
and  coasting  are  about  over  and  soon  the  base- 
ball season  will  begin. 

Meantime,  for  the  younger  boys  there  is  the 
kite-flying  season,  and  with  the  development 
of  the  conquest  of  the  air  by  men  this  promises 
to  become  a  far  more  interesting  subject  for 
the  older  boys.  Gliders  of  all  kinds  can  be 
experimented  with,  and  while  the  winds  of 
March  are  not  the  ideal  ones  for  aeroplane 
work,  they  will  furnish  much  experience  for 
the  boy  who  has  graduated  from  kites  to  the 
more  finished  product. 

Wlien  it  comes  to  the  beginning  of  outdoor 
work  for  spring  sports,  boys  should  remember 
that  in  spite  of  their  having  kept  in  pretty 
good  condition  throughout  the  winter,  they 
are  still  soft  as  far  as  violent  straining  exer- 

196 


GETTING  READY  FOR  OUTDOOR  WORK    197 

cise  out-of-doors  is  concerned.  The  man  may 
have  kept  himself  at  work  on  various  ap- 
paratus indoors  and  may  also  have  had  con- 
siderable outdoor  exercise,  and  yet  if  he  goes 
out  in  March  and  endeavors  to  pitch  a  base- 
ball for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  he  will  find 
his  arm  plenty  lame  the  next  day.  In  fact, 
it  may  be  that  he  will  give  it  a  strain  that  will 
hurt  him  all  the  season.  I  cannot  make  it 
too  impressive  that  boys  and  college  men 
should  not  undertake  to  pitch  very  much 
when  they  first  start  in.  It  should  be  very 
easy,  and  they  should  work  up  gradually, 
taking  a  week  or  so  before  they  are  delivering 
the  ball  with  much  speed  or  snap.  It  pays 
a  great  deal  better  in  the  long  run  than  to 
have  an  arm  which  is  painful  or  useless  later 
in  the  season.  The  same  is  true  about  other 
violent  exercise  of  a  similar  nature — throwing 
very  hard,  running  fast,  or  attempting  to  sHde 
— all  these  should  come  along  gradually,  and 
it  is  better  to  take  two  or  three  weeks  to  get 
over  the  initial  stages. 

A  case  in  point  is  that  of  a  prominent  col- 
lege team :  In  their  spring  recess  they  made  a 
trip  and  as  they  had  not  done  much  of  any 


198  ATHLETES  ALL 

outdoor  work  before  starting  off,  the  experi- 
ence was  not  surprising.  In  one  of  their 
games  the  captain,  endeavoring  to  shde  to 
second,  caught  a  spike  and  twisted  his  foot 
under  him  and  broke  his  leg,  thus  incapaci- 
tating him  practically  for  the  season.  I  know 
of  other  cases  where  nines  have,  on  Southern 
trips,  taken  four  or  five  pitchers  with  them 
and  brought  back  at  least  two,  and  sometimes 
more,  box  men  with  "glass"  arms  who  were 
not  available  again  throughout  the  season. 
These  mistakes  are  not  worth  while  and 
should  be  borne  in  mind. 

While  the  average  boy  has  almost  always 
an  opportunity  to  play  baseball  and  while  that 
is  the  most  common  and  the  easiest  play 
to  get  others  to  take  part  in,  there  are  other 
forms  of  sport  which  are  well  worth  the  con- 
sideration of  any  athlete.  First  of  these  is 
rowing,  where  opportunity  affords,  but  in  this, 
unless  the  school  where  the  boy  attends  is  a 
boating  school,  the  matter  is  difficult  and  of 
course  requires  suitable  water  and  weather, 
and  some  expensive  equipment.  But  there 
is  another  sport  which  is  available  in  every 
way,  and  that  is  the  sport  of  track  athletics. 


GETTING  READY  FOR  OUTDOOR  WORK    199 

Almost  any  boy,  no  matter  what  his  circum- 
stances, can  make  himself  a  success  in  some 
form  of  track  athletics  if  he  is  patient  and 
persevering.  First  and  simplest  of  these  is 
the  long-distance  and  cross-country  running. 
Wherever  a  man  can  carry  himself  by  the  use 
of  feet  he  may  practise  cross-country  runs. 
Then,  too,  it  is  almost  always  possible  to  se- 
cure a  place  where  something  other  than  dis- 
tance running  may  be  enjoyed;  short  sprints 
and  sprinting  on  turf  is  just  as  good  as  on  a 
cinder  track;  in  fact,  rather  better.  The  ham- 
mer throwing  and  shot  putting  are  rather 
more  difficult  to  arrange  for,  particularly  the 
former;  but  the  jumping,  both  broad  and 
high,  and,  in  fact,  the  hurdling,  is  not  difficult 
to  practise.  Taking  up  first  the  cross-country ; 
while  there  is  no  season  of  the  year  that  does 
not  admit  of  work  along  these  lines,  there  are 
days  in  winter  when  the  slush  and  snow  make 
it  a  pretty  disagreeable  task,  but  by  the  time 
February  is  passed  and  March  is  at  hand  the 
weather  begins  to  be  more  propitious  and  the 
going  better.  The  first  thing  for  the  cross- 
country candidate  to  remember  is  that,  as  in 
all  other  sports,  he  should  begin  easily;   he 


200  ATHLETES  ALL 

should  jog-trot  and  walk  ordinarily,  and  sim- 
ply work  on  the  theory  of  getting  a  couple  of 
hours  of  outdoor  exercise,  no  matter  how  little 
distance  he  may  cover.  He  should  then  ex- 
tend this  a  little  at  a  time,  shortening  up  the 
walk  and  adding  to  the  run,  by  no  means  en- 
deavoring to  keep  up  a  pace  that  exhausts 
him.  He  can  well  afford  to  spend  three 
weeks  in  this  kind  of  work  before  he  endeavors 
to  try  himself  out  at  anything  like  a  pace. 
His  next  step  is  to  find  out  what  kind  of  a 
pace  is  best  adapted  to  him  under  trying 
conditions.  Moderate  hill-climbing  and  some 
soft  going  will  tell  him  something  about  his 
peculiarities,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
most  expert  cross-country  runner  is  the  man 
who  knows  best  when  to  force  himself  and 
when  to  save  strength.  Another  thing  should 
be  noted  in  this  early  preparation,  and  that 
is  that  it  isn't  worth  while,  nor  is  it  necessary, 
to  run  over  the  same  course  every  day.  In 
fact,  it  is  much  better  (it  keeps  a  man's  inter- 
est up  to  a  higher  pitch  and  is  much  more 
developing)  for  him  to  take  different  routes. 
One  other  thing:  the  cross-country  candidate 
should  not  be  deluded  with  the  idea  that  the 


The  start. 


In  mid-course. 


THE  MODIFIED  M.\RATHON,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 


GETTING  READY  FOR  OUTDOOR  WORK    201 

more  thinly  he  is  clad  the  more  he  toughens 
himself.  Especially  is  it  well  to  bear  in  mind 
in  the  breaking  up  of  winter  and  beginning 
of  spring  that  if  a  man  is  so  stripped  as  to 
make  it  an  effort  to  keep  warm  he  is  taking  a 
little  more  out  of  himself  than  if  he  were  not 
quite  so  much  exposed.  This  doesn't  mean 
bundling  up,  but  it  does  mean  running  in  such 
a  costume  as  to  carry  as  little  weight  as  possi- 
ble and  at  the  same  time  not  feel  every  pierc- 
ing blast  after  one  is  warmed  up. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
GENERAL  BASEBALL  SUGGESTIONS 

Although  professional  baseball  was  eclipsed 
by  the  war,  the  game  itself  is  greater  than 
ever  in  camp  and  cantonment.  National 
League,  American  League,  "Bush"  League, 
College  and  School  leagues  had  given  way  to 
service  teams,  still  the  boys  in  the  back  lots 
and  every  player  from  the  lowest  to  the  high- 
est wishes  to  make  himself  a  little  better,  a 
little  more  effective,  and  a  little  more  certain 
of  "making  good,"  and  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  it  is  the  boy  who  has  the  best 
chance.  He  is  all  the  time  "coming,"  getting 
better  and  stronger,  and  if  he  is  observing  all 
the  laws  of  health  and  putting  his  mind  and 
heart  into  his  work,  whatever  that  work  is, 
his  chances  of  improvement  are  far  greater 
than  even  those  of  the  league  player  whose 
habits  are  formed  and  who  in  a  very  few  years 
will  begin  to  go  back. 

I  presume  by  this  time  many  a  boy  has 
found  how  easily  the  eye  and  hand  adjust 

202 


GENERAL  BASEBALL  SUGGESTIONS       203 

themselves  when  certain  pressure  is  put  on, 
as,  for  instance,  the  penalty  of  having  to 
chase  the  ball  if  he  did  not  reach  it  with  the 
bat.  Of  course  there  will  be  times  even  after 
a  boy  has  become  very  adept  at  hitting  the 
ball  in  almost  any  position  when  an  unusually 
deceptive  pitcher  will  be  able  to  fool  him, 
but  if  he  keeps  up  his  batting  practice  under 
the  instructions  given  in  another  chapter  the 
number  of  pitchers  that  can  fool  him  and  the 
number  of  times  that  they  will  fool  him  will 
grow  steadily  less  and  his  batting  average 
will  begin  to  creep  up. 

Now  as  to  the  general  fielding  of  the  school 
or  college  nine;  most  of  these  organizations 
spend  too  much  time  on  the  fielding  and  too 
little  on  the  batting,  and  a  good  captain  will 
bear  this  in  mind  and  make  sure  that  his  men 
get  plenty  of  hitting.  Moreover,  the  fielding 
practice  is  apt  to  be  poorly  divided  and  rather 
poorly  proportioned,  a  good  deal  of  practice 
being  devoted  to  plays  which  would  not  come 
often,  while  only  a  small  amount  of  practice 
is  devoted  to  the  play  which  is  liable  to  occur 
more  frequently.  Let  me  give  an  illustration 
of  this: 


204  ATHLETES  ALL 

School  and  college  nines  seem  to  have  a 
particular  desire  to  practise  double  play, 
short  or  third  to  second  base  and  second  base 
to  first. 

Now  this  is  good  practice — good  throwing 
practice,  and  good  practice  in  speed  and  agil- 
ity. But  as  for  its  being  directed  toward  a 
play  which  is  of  great  importance  in  school 
and  college  games,  that  is  a  mistake.  Even 
with  their  practice  the  school  and  college  nine 
do  not  make  a  great  many  of  these  double 
plays  in  the  course  of  a  season.  They  either 
cannot  speed  up  enough  to  make  it  or  when 
they  try  to  get  unusual  pace  they  bungle  the 
job.  Any  one  who  cares  to  keep  a  record  will 
find  that  for  one  double  play  thus  made  the 
school  or  college  nine  will  make  three  or  four 
misses  of  it,  that  is  in  games,  and  the  missed 
play  here  counts  so  much  more  that  one  could 
almost  say  it  would  pay  a  school  or  college 
nine  never  to  undertake  to  make  a  double  play 
of  this  nature.  They  would  save  runs  un- 
doubtedly by  so  doing,  for  either  the  second 
baseman  muffs  the  ball  in  his  haste  to  get  it 
and  throw  it  to  first  and  then  neither  man  is 
out,  or  what  may  be  still  more  fatal  in  hurry- 


GENERAL  BASEBALL  SUGGESTIONS        205 

ing  his  throw  over  to  first  he  throws  wild  and 
the  runner  who  hits  the  ball  comes  all  the 
way  home  for  a  run. 

Start  then  with  this  idea — an  idea  that  any 
captain  or  manager  could  work  out  for  him- 
self. Don't  spend  all  the  time  in  trying  to 
execute  double  plays  or  fancy  plays,  but  let 
those  be  practised  only  enough  to  reach  a 
fair  standard.  But  let  the  plays  which  come 
four  or  five  times  as  often  and  which  are, 
therefore,  of  much  more  relative  importance, 
be  practised  a  greater  proportion  of  the  time. 
The  throwing  of  any  baseman  or  short-stop  to 
first  base,  for  instance,  is  of  vital  importance, 
as  it  comes  far  more  often  than  a  throw  to 
second  or  third  or  home.  Make  every  man 
letter-perfect  on  this  play  from  any  part  of 
his  position.  A  nine  that  can  always  get  that 
ball  to  first  base  is  what  you  want  in  the  first 
place.  Then  comes  the  question  of  handling 
of  ground  hits  by  the  infield.  As  stated  in 
another  chapter,  it  is  well  to  have  a  great  deal 
of  their  practice  come  from  the  kind  of  balls 
that  are  hit  in  games  and  not  from  the  kind 
of  ball  a  man  tosses  up  and  bats,  each  man 
taking  his  turn  and  knowing  that  the  ball  is 


206  ATHLETES  ALL 

coming  to  him  and  is  going  to  come  with  a 
regular  roll  or  bound  such  as  it  always  gets 
from  this  kind  of  a  hit.  The  kind  of  ball  he 
will  get  in  a  game  has  an  ugly  twist  or  shoot 
to  it  probably,  and  that  comes  from  the  fact 
that  the  ball  is  pitched  to  the  batsman  in- 
stead of  the  batsman  throwing  it  up  and  hit- 
ting it.  Keep  this  standard  in  mind  and  see 
that  your  team  get  the  amount  of  practice 
that  is  going  to  improve  them  for  the  game 
and  not  the  kind  of  practice  that  is  merely 
going  to  use  up  their  time. 

The  same  is  true  in  a  measure  of  the  out- 
field. If  an  outfielder  never  gets  any  flies  but 
those  that  are  tossed  up  and  batted  and  what 
is  generally  considered  to  give  practice  to  the 
outfield,  he  may  or  may  not  prove  reliable 
in  an  emergency.  If  he  gets  the  kind  of  bat- 
ting that  comes  in  all  sorts  of  ways  he  may 
become  a  far  more  rehable  man.  As  to  the 
outfielder's  throwing,  with  due  care,  exercis- 
ing to  see  that  their  arms  are  kept  in  good 
condition,  they  should  become  thoroughly  ac- 
customed to  throwing  the  ball  so  that  it 
reaches  the  home-plate  on  a  low  first  bound. 
Of  course  if  a  man  runs  far  out  he  must  re- 


GENERAL  BASEBALL  SUGGESTIONS        207 

lay  it  in,  but  the  practice  of  throwing  the  ball 
home  is  very  valuable. 

Above  and  beyond  everything  else  the  cap- 
tain should  impress  upon  his  outfielders  the 
necessity  of  getting  that  ball  back  into  the 
diamond  promptly.  Many  school  and  col- 
lege outfielders  hold  on  to  the  ball,  and  a 
clever  base  runner  is  hable  to  get  an  extra 
chance  by  it.  As  soon  as  the  ball  is  in  the 
hand  it  should  be  fielded  in,  usually  to  the 
second  baseman.  But  get  it  back  there 
somewhere,  and  get  it  in  without  delay,  is  the 
cardinal  principle.  The  schoolboy  nines  can 
learn  these  points  and  be  as  quick  and  active 
and  up  to  date  in  method  as  the  best  pro- 
fessional teams,  and  the  captain  and  players 
should  pride  themselves  upon  this  part  of 
their  work. 

As  to  battery  practice,  the  first  thing  to  bear 
in  mind  is  that  neither  the  pitcher  nor  catcher 
should  get  a  lame  or  disabled  arm.  Upon  the 
first  signs  of  any  trouble  of  this  kind  he  should 
be  stopped  and  rested  and  his  arm  worked 
over.  If  the  nine  has  two  or  three  pitchers 
they  should  be  worked  alternately,  so  that 
one  man  shall  not  have  all  the  pitching  to  do. 


208  ATHLETES  ALL 

It  is  very  wise  at  all  times  to  have  a  coat 
or  something  to  throw  over  the  arm,  even  in 
warm  weather,  for  when  a  pitcher  is  warmed 
up  he  is  more  sensitive  possibly  to  cold  than 
the  rest  of  the  men,  and  whether  more  sen- 
sitive or  not,  it  is  more  vital  not  to  have  his 
arm  go  wrong. 

I  will  reserve  the  various  minor  points  of 
pitching  for  a  later  chapter,  but  in  connection 
with  this  one  about  fielding  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  pitcher  should  be  taught 
the  same  as  the  other  fielders  to  cover  his 
position  and  cover  it  promptly,  to  make  that 
throw  to  first  so  that  he  is  sure  of  it  almost 
with  his  eyes  shut,  and  he  ought  to  have  a 
good  fair  amount  of  practice  of  whirhng  and 
throwing  to  second. 

One  other  thing:  it  is  well  for  him  to  have 
some  practice  on  his  running  in  on  a  slow 
baU  coming  along  the  first  and  third  base  line 
that  is  the  ordinary  kind  of  a  bunt.  He  is 
sure  to  get  some  of  these,  and  upon  his  abil- 
ity to  field  them  will  very  often  depend  a  game. 

Finally,  the  catcher  beside  his  regular  bat- 
tery work  should  have  practice  in  catching 
high  fouls,  and  here  it  is  best  for  him  to  prac- 


GENERAL  BASEBALL  SUGGESTIONS        209 

tise  with  his  mask  on  and  throwing  the  mask 
off  after  the  foul  is  batted.  This  is  what  he 
will  have  to  do  in  a  game,  and  it  is  just  as 
well  that  he  should  do  some  of  it  in  his  or- 
dinary practice.  Of  course  throwing  to  sec- 
ond is  very  vital  for  him,  and  for  the  most 
part  he  should  practise  receiving  the  ball 
from  his  regular  pitcher,  having  the  batsman 
stand  up  in  the  box.  This  reproduces  the  con- 
ditions under  which  he  will  have  to  work  in  a 
game. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

DANGERS  OF  BASEBALL  AS  A 
PROFESSION 

Not  so  long  ago  professional  baseball- 
players  were  receiving  salaries  never  before 
dreamed  of,  contracts  being  made  for  not 
one  year  but  two  or  three.  A  new  league 
had  been  started  to  compete  with  the  old- 
established  National  and  American  Leagues, 
and,  naturally,  the  attention  of  every  boy  in 
the  country  was  directed  even  more  strongly 
than  usual  to  the  American  national  game. 
Then  came  the  war  and  all  this  was  changed. 
But  the  American  boy  still  loves  baseball.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  a  very  large  pro- 
portion of  these  men  drawing  high  salaries 
and  who  otherwise  made  good  in  the  baseball 
world,  were  practically  unknown  or  their 
value  unrecognized  when  they  came  from  or 
to  the  bush  leagues.  With  all  this  glamour,  a 
boy  should  realize,  however,  fully  that  these 
men  who  came  to  the  top  were  the  exceptions 
and  that  there  were  thousands  of  others  who 

210 


DANGERS  OF  BASEBALL  AS  A  PROFESSION    211 

did  not  succeed,  and,  furthermore,  that  the 
general  effective  Hfe  of  a  baseball-player — and 
by  this  we  do  not  mean  the  nimiber  of  years 
he  wiU  live  but  the  number  of  years  when  he 
can  draw  a  large  salary — is  comparatively 
limited.  True,  there  are  splendid  exceptions, 
and  these  only  go  to  prove  how  a  man  who 
lives  a  temperate  life  and  takes  care  of  him- 
self will  continue  in  the  full  possession  of  his 
physical  faculties  and  prowess  for  a  very  con- 
siderable period  of  years.  But  boys  should 
remember  that  for  every  success  there  are 
hundreds  of  failures.  In  fact,  in  baseball  prob- 
ably it  is  more  true  than  it  is  in  any  other 
line  that  the  proportion  of  failures  is  large. 
More  than  that,  following  baseball  as  a  means 
of  livelihood  does  not  fit  a  boy  for  any  other 
work.  As  a  matter  of  experience,  it  is  rather 
the  reverse  of  this,  A  boy  who  has  played 
baseball  well  enough  to  reach  the  point  where 
he  can  earn  a  little  money  at  it,  finds  after  a 
season  or  two  that  he  has  not  improved  him- 
self in  any  way  in  preparation  for  any  future 
work  save  that  of  baseball. 

I  am  going  over  all  this  in  order  to  be  sure 
that  the  readers  of  this  book  will  appreciate 


212  ATHLETES  ALL 

fully  that  to  sacrifice  other  things,  studies  or 
work,  to  this  particular  mania,  is  the  height  of 
folly  in  ninety-nine  boys  out  of  a  hundred.  In 
fact,  I  think  it  is  in  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  out  of  a  thousand.  Other  kinds  of  work 
prepare  a  boy  to  go  into  many  kinds  of  busi- 
ness. He  learns  in  any  office  or  store  business 
ways  that  prepare  him,  no  matter  what  his 
shift  may  be  later  on,  but  baseball  in  local 
aggregations  and  minor  class  unfits  a  boy  for 
other  more  serious  work.  This  is  not  to  say 
that  a  boy  should  not  play  baseball,  and  play 
it  to  the  very  best  of  his  ability  and  try  for 
his  school  or  local  nine;  play  all  he  can  in  his 
spare  time;  perfect  himself;  become  a  star, 
if  possible;  but  it  is  to  say  that  he  should  not 
let  this  sport  interfere  with  his  studies  or  with 
his  regular  work,  and  that  he  should  regard  it 
as  of  less  importance  than  these  matters,  and 
should  endeavor  at  all  times  to  appreciate 
fully  what  the  difference  is,  and  if,  perchance, 
he  develops  into  a  star  in  spite  of  not  regard- 
ing his  baseball  as  the  main  object  in  life,  he 
will  have  secured  other  education  and  experi- 
ence to  fall  back  on  when  his  star  begins  to 
set. 


DANGERS  OF  BASEBALL  AS  A  PROFESSION    213 

We  don't  hear  much  about  the  old-timers 
who  have  dropped  out.  Once  in  a  while,  a 
man  has  made  such  a  mark  that  the  news- 
papers follow  him  in  his  later  career,  but  when 
they  do  it  is  rather  apt  to  be  a  sad  story. 
The  case  of  "Rube"  Waddell  is  one  in  point. 
Here  was  one  of  the  best  League  pitchers;  a 
man  whose  name  was  known  by  every  fan 
throughout  the  country.  It  was  known  that 
"Rube"  was  dying  slowly  but  surely,  and  that 
the  end  was  coming  nearer  and  nearer.  Some 
of  the  advice  that  "Rube"  gave  to  young 
players  under  these  conditions  was  forcible, 
and  it  is  hoped  will  be  effective.  He  spoke 
most  strongly  against  cigarettes  and  alcohol, 
and  warned  all  young  players  to  let  them 
alone.  "Rube"  was  a  big,  strong  fellow,  but 
tuberculosis  got  hold  of  him,  and  in  April, 
just  at  the  time  when  baseball  int^est  was 
beginning  to  stir,  he  passed  over  into  the 
great  beyond. 

But  "Rube "  was  only  one  of  many,  and  the 
many  are  those  whose  names  no  longer  appear 
in  the  newspapers  and  who  are  practically 
forgotten  until  perhaps  a  death-notice  brings 
them  to  the  front  once  more.     Some  of  them 


214  ATHLETES  ALL 

are  men  who  were  successful  for  a  few  years; 
others  are  those  who  ran  on  somewhat  longer, 
but  in  the  end  nature  will  have  its  way.  A 
baseball-player  when  he  nears  the  forty  mark 
may  expect  that  his  last  time  at  the  bat  is 
coming  very  soon.  Hence,  boys,  do  not  view 
with  too  eager  and  envious  eyes  the  hero  of  the 
diamond,  and  do  not  be  deceived  into  the 
belief  that  it  is  worth  while  sacrificing  more 
tangible  pursuits  to  become  one  of  them. 
Those  who  do  come  to  the  top  are  products 
of  brain,  eye,  muscle,  nerve,  patience,  and 
pertinacity,  and  in  a  great  many  cases  the 
same  qualities  put  to  work  in  another  line 
would  have  proved  equally  effective — not  per- 
haps in  drawing  such  a  large  salary,  but  in 
preparing  the  way  for  a  salary  that  should 
last  a  great  many  more  years. 

It  is  the  development  of  these  qualities  that 
counts,  no  matter  what  the  later  pursuit  may 
be,  and  it  is  certainly  a  fact,  proven  time  and 
again,  that  it  is  the  hard  worker  in  any  line 
that  usually  comes  to  the  top,  although  the 
brilliant  performer  may  stand  in  the  lime- 
light temporarily. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  IMPORTANCE   OF  COACHING 
IN  BASEBALL 

It  is  worth  while  to  devote  a  chapter  to 
one  of  the  most  important  features  of  base- 
ball, namely,  the  coaching.  This  applies  not 
only  to  the  instructions  given,  we  will  say,  by 
a  manager  in  the  league  teams,  or  by  a  coach 
in  college  or  school  teams,  to  all  the  members 
of  the  squad,  but  also  to  that  side  of  baseball 
which  deals  with  the  instructions  from  a  fel- 
low player  to  the  men  on  bases  when  the  side 
is  at  the  bat. 

In  a  way,  all  the  preceding  chapters  have 
dealt  with  the  first  part  of  this  question, 
namely,  the  instruction  given  teams  by  man- 
ager or  coaches.  Here  there  is  one  all-impor- 
tant fact  to  remember,  and  it  is  the  rock  upon 
which  more  hopes  have  been  shattered  and 
gone  down  than  any  other.  A  manager  or 
coach  must  not  sap  the  initiative — the  indi- 
vidual thinking  qualities  of  his  players.     If  he 

215 


«16  ATHLETES  ALL 

does,  he  makes  mere  automatons  of  them, 
and  such  a  nine,  although  it  obey  the  pulls 
on  the  strings,  can  never  hope  to  reach  the 
highest  standard  of  baseball  excellence.  It 
is  the  nine  that  can  obey  instructions,  but 
composed  of  individuals  each  one  of  whom 
is  quite  capable  of  thinking  for  himself,  that 
will  eventually  win. 

If  a  manager  or  coach  starts  out,  however, 
to  make  the  man  do  all  the  thinking  for  him- 
self, he  oftentimes  finds  that  his  men  are  slow 
to  progress.  What  he  should  do  is  supple- 
ment that  thinking,  encourage  it,  do  every- 
thing he  can  to  set  it  in  right  channels,  and 
then  put  it  up  to  the  man  himself.  There  are 
times  when  it  is  well  worth  while  for  the 
manager  or  coach  to  tell  a  man  going  to  bat 
what  he  wants  him  to  do.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  a  man  at  the  bat  is  all  the  time  look- 
ing over  to  the  bench  to  find  out  what  new 
instructions  he  is  to  get,  his  batting  average 
will  certainly  go  down  and  his  effectiveness  as 
a  member  of  the  nine  be  lost.  The  same  is 
true  in  every  department  in  the  game. 

In  the  school  and  college  nines  this  element 
of   developing   individual   initiative   is   even 


COACHING  IN  BASEBALL  217 

more  important  than  in  the  professional  ranks, 
for  in  the  latter  men  have  served  a  pretty 
hard  schooling  already  before  they  reach  their 
positions,  and  as  their  salary  and  livelihood 
depend  upon  their  effectiveness,  they  natu- 
rally keep  their  wits  pretty  well  sharpened  to 
the  main  chance.  The  school  or  college  organ- 
ization may,  on  the  other  hand  (and  there 
have  been  plenty  of  instances  of  this),  drift 
into  a  way  of  leaning  upon  the  coach  to  such 
an  extent  that  they  are  absolutely  flabby,  and 
can  neither  think  nor  act  for  themselves  in 
any  emergency.  This  hurts  them,  both  as 
baseball-players  and  as  coming  men  as  well. 
To  take  up  the  other  side  of  the  coaching — 
that  is,  the  instructions  given  by  a  fellow 
player  or  an  appointed  man  to  the  base-run- 
ners. There  is  a  coach  allowed  over  at  first 
base  and  at  third  base,  restrained  by  certain 
lines  so  that  he  may  not  approach  too  near 
the  diamond.  Now,  first  let  us  see  what  are 
his  legitimate  technical  duties  and  how  he 
should  perform  them;  then  we  will  consider 
some  of  the  other  phases  of  the  position.  In 
the  first  place,  take  the  man  on  the  right, 
or  occupying  the  position  behind  first  base. 


218  ATHLETES  ALL 

Until  the  batsman  has  actually  reached  first, 
his  duties  are  limited  to  just  one  thing, 
namely,  perhaps  urging  the  man  after  he  has 
hit  the  ball  and  is  coming  toward  first,  to  run 
or  run  it  out.  But  instantly  upon  the  man's 
arriving  on  first,  his  duties  multiply.  If  the 
man  has  made  a  hit  that  offers  any  possible 
chance  of  turning  it  into  two  bases,  the  coacher 
is  the  man  to  tell  him  what  to  do,  so  that  he 
may  be  able  to  act  instantly  without  lessen- 
ing in  his  speed  and  go  on  and  perhaps  make 
an  additional  base  which  the  slightest  hesita- 
tion would  lose.  But  suppose  the  man  has, 
however,  arrived  at  first  on  a  single  with  no 
chance  of  going  farther.  From  the  moment 
that  the  ball  is  hit  the  coacher  must  know 
where  it  is.  Who  has  not  seen  a  good  single 
made  and  the  runner  reach  first  base,  the 
pitcher  turn  back  and  get  ready  for  his  de- 
livery, the  runner  step  off  and  the  first  base- 
man calmly  pull  the  ball  out  from  under  his 
arm  and  touch  him  out?  The  best  league 
players  have  been  caught  by  this  trick,  as  old 
as  the  hills,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  coacher 
to  know  where  that  ball  is  every  instant  and 
to  keep  his  runner  posted.     A  motion  made 


COACHING  IN  BASEBALL  219 

by  the  first  baseman  to  retmn  the  ball  to  the 
pitcher  and  then  holding  the  ball,  is  another 
common  trick  which  should  be  looked  out  for 
at  all  times.  The  next  duty  of  the  coacher  is 
to  interpret  the  signals  of  the  batsman  as  to 
going  down,  so  that  the  runner  is  ready  for 
the  hit-and-run  play  or  any  other  trick  of  the 
game. 

Should  there  be  a  partially  passed  ball,  the 
coacher  must  be  able  to  tell  his  runner  whether 
to  go  on  a  try  for  second  or  go  back. 

But  if  the  first-base  coach  has  important 
duties,  what  shall  one  say  of  the  man  over 
behind  third,  for  that  is  the  position  of  the 
most  vital  interest  to  any  nine  that  wishes  to 
win  games.  A  man  to  act  as  coach  over  at 
third  must  be  a  real  student  of  the  game,  and 
a  man  who  knows  just  when  to  take  a  chance 
and  when  not  to.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  when  a  man  gets  as  far  as  crossing  third 
he  becomes  a  mighty  valuable  asset  toward 
scoring  possibilities.  He  is  two  points  further 
advanced  than  the  man  on  first,  and  the  loss 
of  him  over  at  third  is  therefore  far  more 
serious.  Think  how  often  it  has  taken  a 
sacrifice  and  a  hit  to  get  this  man  from  first 


220  ATHLETES  ALL 

to  third,  and  some  idea  can  be  had  of  his 
value.  As  soon  as  a  man  leaves  first  on  his 
way  to  second  he  passes  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  first-base  coacher,  in  a  general  way,  and 
comes  into  the  hands  of  the  third-base  coacher. 
True,  if  he  stops  on  second  then  both  these 
men  watch  second  and  short  to  warn  him  in 
case  the  pitcher  or  catcher  throws  to  second 
to  catch  him.  But  when  he  comes  around 
second,  full  tilt  on  a  hit,  it  is  the  man  at  third 
who  is  going  to  tell  him  what  to  do  next — 
whether  to  hold  third  or  go  on  home  with  that 
run  that  is  so  vitally  important,  and  here 
comes  in  the  judgment  of  the  third-base 
coach.  He  must  know  just  what  kind  of  a 
single  will  put  a  man  home  from  second;  he 
must  know  how  fast  that  man  on  second  is 
able  to  run,  and  he  must  calculate  to  a  nicety 
all  these  factors,  as  well  as  the  position  of  the 
fielder  who  gets  the  ball.  With  some  men  it 
is  intuition,  and  they  are  the  men  who  make 
the  best  coaches.  After  all,  their  intuition  is 
a  developed  understanding,  but  they  get  quick 
action.  The  study  of  this  coach  in  position 
will  well  repay  any  boy  in  his  future  baseball. 
Now,  before  closing,  just  a  word  on  some 


COACHING  IN  BASEBALL  221 

of  the  illegitimate  supposed  duties  of  the 
coach,  and  my  advice  to  boys  is  to  let  them 
entirely  alone.  First  is  his  endeavoring  to 
steal  signals  of  the  other  side  by  watching  the 
catcher's  hands,  and  the  second  is  endeavor- 
ing to  rattle  the  pitcher  or  other  players  on 
the  opposing  nine  by  calls  or  comments. 
These  are  not  a  proper  part  of  baseball,  and 
while  they  may  take  the  fancy  of  the  crowd 
at  times  at  professional  games,  they  have  no 
part  in  school  or  college  contests. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
WINTER   SPORTS 

ICE-HOCKEY 

A  BOY  should  have  sport  of  some  kind  the 
year  round.  He  should  not  "hibernate"  in 
the  winter. 

No  one  who  has  not  been  out  to  the  Pacific 
coast  can  realize  the  advantages  that  the 
boy  athlete,  as  well  as  the  athlete  of  maturer 
years,  has  in  the  fact  that  sports  may  be  con- 
tinued there  almost  uninterruptedly  through- 
out the  entire  year.  It  is  probably  this  fact 
that  is  leading  to  the  development  of  the 
stars  in  all  lines  of  sport  that  are  coming  from 
the  Pacific  coast.  Tennis-players,  track  ath- 
letes, baseball  men  and,  in  fact,  all  represen- 
tatives of  sport  now  realize  the  quality  and 
caliber  of  coast  players.  The  writer  made  a 
visit  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  going  from 
San  Francisco  up  and  down,  covering  the  en- 
tire coast  as  far  south  as  Pasadena  and  as  far 
north  as  Vancouver,  and  has  found  sport  of 


WINTER  SPORTS  223 

all  kinds  in  a  remarkably  high  state  of  devel- 
opment. Football  can  be  played  out  there 
much  later  than  here.  In  fact^  a  great  game 
is  always  played  on  New  Year's  Day.  The 
two  universities,  California  and  Stanford,  a 
few  years  ago  adopted  the  Rugby  game,  and 
several  of  the  schools  followed  their  lead. 
Others,  notably  Belmont,  which  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  former  Harvard  coach,  William 
T.  Reid,  Jr.,  continued  playing  the  American 
game.  The  University  of  California,  how- 
ever, soon  returned  to  the  American  Intercol- 
legiate, and  in  addition  to  these  schools  and 
universities  there  are  hundreds  of  boys  round- 
about San  Francisco,  from  Vallejo  down  to 
the  Presidio,  who  are  playing  the  American 
game,  and  playing  it  with  remarkable  facility. 
They  adopted  all  the  new  rules,  and  are  mak- 
ing the  most  of  the  forward  pass.  The  writer 
had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  a  team  whose 
only  chance  for  practice  lay  in  working  by 
electric  light  in  the  evening,  develop  such  a 
game  through  constant  drill  that  they  were 
able  in  a  match  contest  to  defeat  a  team  from 
the  soldiers  which  outweighed  them  six  or 
seven  pounds  to  the  man.     In  one  period  out 


224  ATHLETES  ALL 

of  four  forward  passes  they  made  every  one 
effective.  Farther  north  the  American  game 
is  played  exclusively,  and  there  are  first-class 
teams  from  the  universities  and  schools.  A 
boys'  high-school  baseball  team  also  made  a 
very  extended  tour  to  Australia  and  else- 
where, and  were  most  hospitably  entertained. 
These  boys  carried  the  respect  for  American 
manhood  into  many  sections,  and  were  roy- 
ally treated. 

Boys  of  this  country  who  have  not  the  facil- 
ities granted  in  the  climate  of  California  must 
bear  in  mind  that  during  the  winter  seasons 
there  is  still  plenty  of  sport  by  means  of 
which  they  may  perfect  themselves  for  the 
work  of  the  open  season.  Referring  back  to 
our  earlier  chapters,  the  boy  should  remember 
by  cold  baths  and  outdoor  exercises  whenever 
possible  to  keep  his  condition  throughout  this 
season,  so  that  when  spring  comes  he  may  be 
fairly  fit  for  the  beginning  of  the  baseball  sea- 
son and  track  work.  There  is  some  compen- 
sation in  the  cold  weather,  for  it  brings  in 
new  sports  of  a  nature  which  the  Pacific  coast 
boy  has  no  opportunity  to  enjoy.  First 
among  these  probably  stands  ice-hockey.     In 


WINTER  SPORTS  225 

many  of  the  schools,  such  as  St.  Paul's,  of 
Concord,  this  is  a  very  highly  developed 
sport,  and  this  school  alone  turns  out  more 
effective  skaters  than  almost  any  other.  The 
game  is  a  good  one,  but  has  of  late  taken  on 
some  of  the  objectionable  roughness  that 
leads  to  complications.  Any  one  who  has 
seen  the  most  expert  of  Canadian  teams  play 
this  game  has  a  chance  to  realize  that  it  is  not 
roughness  which  wins  matches,  but  skill,  and 
this  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  all  the  coach- 
ing and  playing.  The  first  requisite  for  a 
good  hockey-player  is  ability  to  skate  well. 
The  next  is  good  judgment,  and  these  two 
combined  go  far  to  perfect  any  boy  in  this 
sport.  It  is  not  necessary  for  him  to  be  big 
or  powerful.  Some  members  of  the  team 
may  to  advantage  carry  considerable  weight 
and  strength,  but  there  is  always  a  place  for 
the  active,  clever,  fast  skater  who  keeps  his 
wits  about  him,  knows  every  moment  where 
his  comrades  are,  and  can  take  advantage  of 
any  weakness  on  the  part  of  his  opponents. 
For  the  development  of  this  sport  a  rink  is 
not  necessary,  although  the  college  champion- 
ship games  are  mostly  played  in  these  enclosed 


226  ATHLETES  ALL 

places.  In  fact,  the  very  best  practice  of  all 
is,  from  the  outdoor  exercise,  on  open  ponds 
or  lakes,  and  it  is  surprising  how  simple  it  is 
to  develop  a  small  pond  by  flooding  a  field 
after  banking  up  when  the  frost  has  once  got 
the  ground  well  set.  In  this  sport  practice  is 
the  great  essential,  and  team  practice  very 
vital.  It  is  not  necessary  always  to  have  the 
entire  team  on  hand,  for  three  men  together 
may  get  excellent  practice  in  passing  the  puck 
and  learning  to  shoot,  as  well  as  to  dodge,  on 
a  surface  that  would  be  altogether  too  small 
to  play  a  regular  game. 

The  equipment  consists  of  a  good  hockey 
skate  and  a  stick.  The  goal -tender  needs 
shin-guards,  but  apart  from  this  and  heavy 
winter  gloves  there  is  very  little  necessity  of 
purchasing  articles  for  the  sake  of  the  game. 
Two  stones  set  up  on  the  ice  will  serve  for 
goals,  and  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary  even 
that  a  player  should  have  the  traditional 
hockey-skate,  although  this  is  undoubtedly  an 
advantage.  Condition  is  of  prime  importance 
in  hockey,  for  a  fast  game  will  try  the  wind 
and  endurance  of  any  skater.  In  some  sec- 
tions of  Canada  the  game  has  grown  very  fast 


WINTER  SPORTS  22T 

and  furious  in  championship,  and  the  writer 
saw  one  season  a  Winnipeg  player  whose 
equipment  would  startle  even  the  most  radi- 
cal opponent  of  football.  He  wore  steel  pro- 
tectors over  his  ankles  inside  the  shoe,  shin- 
guards,  and  protectors  on  his  upper  leg. 
Then  he  wore  under  his  jersey  a  sole-leather 
cuirass,  or  jacket,  which  reached  up  to  his 
neck,  while  he  had  gauntleted  gloves,  a  nose- 
guard  and  a  head-gear!  But  it  is  by  no 
means  necessary  that  this  sport  should  be 
carried  by  extreme  body-checking  to  any 
such  state  as  to  make  such  equipment  for 
protection  necessary.  Rule-makers  may  take 
up  this  proposition,  as  they  have  in  football 
and  basket-ball,  and  another  sport  may  be 
continued  in  a  reasonable  and  sane  manner. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
MORE   ABOUT   WINTER   TRAINING 

Many  times  I  have  been  asked  by  boys  in 
the  preparatory  schools  just  what  the  winter 
training  for  athletes  in  the  universities  is, 
and  perhaps  a  description  of  the  work  at  a 
big  university  will  be  of  interest  and  benefit 
to  the  readers  of  this  book.  It  will  also  be  a 
great  aid  to  those  who  desire  to  condition 
themselves  for  later  military  service. 

Formerly,  there  used  to  be  a  considerable 
hiatus  between  the  end  of  the  football  season 
and  the  taking  up  of  indoor  winter  work  in 
preparation  for  the  spring  sports.  In  most  of 
the  universities  there  is  a  ball,  promenade,  or 
dance,  by  whatever  name  it  may  be  called, 
in  midwinter,  and  as  this  usually  comes  along 
about  the  middle  of  January,  it  used  to  be 
the  fashion  for  all  the  athletes  to  enjoy  a  period 
of  rest  from  the  end  of  the  football  season  un- 
til after  this  festivity,  and  then  take  up  in- 
door work.     Nor  was  this  an  unmixed  evil, 

228 


MORE  ABOUT  WINTER  TRAmiNG         229 

as  it  is  really  rather  hard  on  a  man  to  train 
rigorously  the  year  around  without  a  break. 
Now  by  this  I  do  not  mean  that  a  man  is 
better  for  breaking  training  in  the  sense  of 
smoking,  drinking,  eating  inordinately  or 
anything  of  that  kind,  but  that  some  change 
in  the  variety  of  his  food  and  some  let-up  in 
the  severity  of  his  continuous  exercise  is  not 
a  bad  thing.  However,  nowadays  the  athletic 
interest  is  so  stimulated  that,  as  a  college  pro- 
fessor once  put  it  to  me,  "there  is  no  longer 
any  closed  season  for  athletics." 

Almost  at  once  after  the  Thanksgiving  re- 
cess, the  basket-ball  men  are  called  out  and 
begin  to  do  their  work  in  the  gymnasium. 
The  soccer-players  are  still  out-of-doors  and 
continue  their  good  sport.  The  swimming 
team  and  wrestlers  get  to  work  very  early  in 
the  gymnasium,  so  that  we  have  the  basket- 
ball men  at  work  on  their  floor,  the  swimming 
men  at  work  in  the  pool,  and  the  wrestlers 
taking  their  turns  on  the  mats.  Then  there 
are  the  squash-courts,  indoor  tennis-courts, 
and,  where  they  have  the  opportunity,  hand- 
ball is  played. 

In  the  sport  which  has  already  been  com- 


230  ATHLETES  ALL 

mented  upon,  namely,  ice-hockey,  practice 
cannot,  of  course,  begin  for  those  who  are 
not  fortunate  enough  to  possess  an  indoor 
rink  with  an  ice-making  plant  until  the 
weather  turns  cold  enough  to  freeze  the  lakes 
and  ponds.  Boys  located  near  a  big  city 
where  there  is  a  rink  with  artificial  ice  could 
enjoy  this  sport  soon  after  Thanksgiving. 
The  rowing  men,  baseball  men,  and  the  track 
men  generally  get  to  work  directly  after  the 
winter  recess — that  is,  soon  after  the  first  of 
January,  and  with  perhaps  a  few  days'  let-up 
at  the  time  of  the  promenade,  continuing  it 
steadily  until  they  get  out-of-doors  and  then 
on  until  the  season  closes — the  track  men  the 
first  of  June,  the  baseball  and  crew  men  the 
first  of  July.  This  makes  for  the  latter  two 
six  months  of  pretty  strenuous  training,  and 
five  months  for  the  track  men.  The  baseball 
and  track  men  make  use  of  the  cage,  where 
one  is  available,  and  at  many  universities 
now  the  cage  is  a  very  important  structure. 
The  one  at  New  Haven  has  a  good  dirt  floor 
and  has  curved  board  runways  at  the  corners, 
so  that  the  track  men  can  really  get  excellent 
actual  practice  in  running.     The  ventilation 


MORE  ABOUT  WINTER  TRAINING        231 

is  good,  and  the  composition  of  the  dirt  floor 
is  such  as  to  make  it  useful  both  for  track  and 
baseball  men.  The  latter  can  get  admirable 
practice  in  this  cage  in  the  way  of  fielding 
balls,  throwing,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  bat- 
ting, although  the  light  in  the  cage  is  always 
quite  different  from  that  outside,  and  there 
is  some  question  as  to  the  value  of  batting 
practice  under  these  conditions.  The  crew 
men  may  work  either  in  a  tank,  providing  an 
artificial  duplication  of  actual  rowing  condi- 
tions, or  with  the  machines — that  is,  pneu- 
matic machines.  The  former,  tank  rowing, 
has  been  experimented  with  a  great  deal,  and, 
if  one  could  only  duplicate  the  actual  condi- 
tions, would  be  of  the  greatest  value.  Un- 
fortunately, no  amount  of  experimenting  has 
ever  seemed  to  quite  solve  the  problem.  The 
Syracuse  tank  comes,  however,  very  near  to 
this.  Seats  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  tank 
can  be  made  to  duplicate  the  seats  in  the 
boat  without  any  trouble,  and  the  oars  are 
the  same,  but  the  water,  being  confined,  is 
very  dead,  and  as  the  boat  does  not  move 
but  is  fixed,  the  pull  that  one  can  get  with 
an    oar-blade   is   something   enormous.    To 


232  ATHLETES  ALL 

solve  this  difficulty  plans  were  made  to  have 
the  water  moved  by  a  wheel  so  that  there 
was  a  constant  current  flowing  with  the  stroke. 
Other  plans  were  to  cut  holes  in  the  oar-blades 
so  that  the  water  came  through  the  blade. 
None  of  these  plans,  however,  have  seemed 
to  quite  duplicate  outside  conditions,  and 
there  is  a  shift  about  every  two  or  three  years 
from  tank  rowing  to  pneumatic  and  back 
again  to  tank.  Which  is  the  better,  no  one 
has  yet  been  able  to  determine  finally. 

Now  in  addition  to  all  these  regular  sports, 
there  are,  of  course,  men  who  exercise  on 
various  apparatus  in  the  gymnasium  and  who 
thus  keep  themselves  in  fair  physical  condi- 
tion throughout  the  winter.  It  should,  how- 
ever, be  borne  in  mind  that  games  are  better 
than  apparatus  and  in  outdoor  air  far  better 
than  those  within  four  walls.  Probably  in  a 
university  the  size  of  Harvard  or  Yale  three- 
fourths  of  the  men  take  pretty  regular  and 
constant  exercise  through  the  winter. 

There  are  three  main  things  to  be  borne  in 
mind  in  indoor  exercise.  The  first  is  the 
problem  of  ventilation.  Of  course  it  is  im- 
possible to  get  as  much  fresh  air  as  one  has 


MORE  ABOUT  WmTER  TRAINING         233 

out-of-doors,  and  the  result  is  that  there  is 
some  deficiency  in  the  revivifying  power  of 
oxygen,  and  consequently  the  exercise  is  not 
really  as  beneficial  as  out-of-door  work.  The 
second  point,  and  one  intimately  connected 
with  the  first,  is  that  a  man  or  a  boy  should 
bear  in  mind  that  he  cannot  do  as  much  work 
without  exhaustion  under  indoor  conditions. 

The  third  is  the  increased  liability  to  catch- 
ing cold  and  therefore  getting  stiffened  up. 
Perspiration  is  more  freely  induced  and  the 
pores  of  the  skin  do  not  respond  as  actively 
in  the  natural  closing  process,  and  hence  an 
indoor  athlete  must  be  more  careful  to  get  his 
bath  and  rubdown  promptly,  for  there  is 
nothing  more  dangerous  than  to  exercise  in- 
doors and  then  stand  near  an  open  window 
and  thus  cool  off  suddenly. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
WRESTLING  AND  BOXING 

One  of  the  best  of  indoor  sports  for  general 
development  is  that  of  wrestling,  and  it  re- 
quires very  little  apparatus. 

Every  boy  knows  that  from  the  time  he  is 
old  enough  to  recognize  other  boys  he  has,  at 
the  same  time,  faced  the  fact  that  boys  will 
always  have  certain  trials  of  strength  usually 
resulting  in  wrestling.  For  the  most  part 
these  boyish  encounters  have  no  definite  rules 
governing  them,  and  hence  it  is  well  as  the 
boy  grows  up  to  have  him  realize  that  there  is 
a  method  in  this  sport,  and  that  there  are 
certain  rules  governing  it  which  insure  to 
each  contestant  fair  play  and  no  favoritism. 
Such  rules  are  carried  out  by  the  wrestling 
instructors  in  camps  and  stations.  There  are 
some  half-dozen  or  so  recognized  styles  of 
wrestling,  the  most  familiar  being  "  catch -as- 
catch-can"  and  "Graico-Roman."  There  are 
also    various    others  as    "coUar-and-elbow,'* 

234 


WRESTLING  AND  BOXING  235 

"side  hold,"  and  those  known  by  localities, 
"Devonshire,"  "Cumberland,"  "Westmore- 
land," and  the  like.  Then  there  are  various 
foreign  styles,  the  most  well  known  being 
the  Japanese  "jiu-jitsu"  and  "sumo."  Of  all 
these  forms  "sumo"  is  probably  the  highest 
grade.  It  differs  from  all  other  forms  of 
wrestling  and  is  regarded  as  a  high  calling  in 
Japan.  A  representative  of  sumo  wrestling 
visited  this  country  not  long  ago,  and  gave  ex- 
hibitions with  his  assistants  in  various  places, 
one  of  these  exhibitions  occurring  at  the  Yale 
gymnasium.  Hitachiyama  was  a  giant  in 
physique  and  must  have  weighed  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  three  hundred  pounds.  His  as- 
sistants were  lighter  but  well-built  men.  He 
wrestled  with  them  individually,  and  then 
finally  took  on  all  three  at  once  without  seri- 
ously incommoding  himself.  Furthermore, 
during  the  entire  exhibition,  which  lasted 
some  three  hours,  he  disdained  altogether  the 
chair  that  was  provided  for  him,  and  when 
resting  simply  squatted  on  his  heels  in  the  ap- 
proved Japanese  fashion. 

Sumo  consists  of  a  bout  in  a  30-foot  ring, 
made  by  drawing  a  circle  on  a  mat.    The  two 


236  ATHLETES  ALL 

wrestlers  face  each  other,  squatted  on  their 
heels,  with  their  clinched  fists  on  the  mat  in 
front  of  them.  This  is  usually  preceded  by  a 
religious  ceremony.  They  then  lift  one  fist 
and  then  the  other  slightly  off  the  mat,  but 
the  bout  does  not  commence  until  both 
wrestlers  have  taken  both  hands  up.  Then 
the  bout  commences  instantly.  The  object 
of  the  wrestling  is  to  force  the  opponent  to 
touch  any  part  of  his  body  save  his  bare  feet 
(for  they  wrestle  barefoot)  to  the  mat,  or  to 
push  him  outside  of  the  30-foot  circle.  Either 
one  of  these  constitutes  a  fall.  None  of  the 
Yale  men  undertook  to  wrestle  with  Hitachi- 
yama,  but  they  did  undertake  the  contest 
with  his  assistants,  the  understanding  being 
they  would  wrestle  one  fall  sumo  and  a  second 
fall  American  catch-as-catch-can.  The  Japs 
had  not  the  slightest  trouble  in  disposing  of 
even  the  heavy-weight  Yale  wrestlers  in  sumo 
at  the  rate  of  about  a  fall  every  few  seconds, 
for  the  Americans  were  unable  to  keep  their 
hands  off  the  mat  after  once  started.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  the  American  catch-as-catch- 
can  the  Japs  betrayed  their  manifest  profi- 
ciency, but  were  not  powerful  enough  to  over- 


WRESTLING  AND  BOXING  237 

come  the  greater  strength  and  skill  of  the 
Yale  contestants. 

But  to  return  to  the  usual  fashions  in  this 
country.  Catch-as-catch-can,  as  its  name  in- 
dicates, is  the  ordinary  form  of  wrestling  for 
boys  who  indulge  in  rough-and-tumble  forms, 
except  that  it  has  diflFerent  rules  as  to  what 
constitutes  fair  play  and  what  constitutes  a 
fall.    These  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

Two  shoulders  touching  the  mat  or  ground 
constitute  a  fall. 

Flying  falls  do  not  count. 

Throttling  is  barred  and  certain  definite 
periods  are  usually  arranged  for.  The  ring  is 
usually  twenty -four  feet  square.  It  is  allow- 
able to  seize  the  opponent  in  any  fashion,  bar- 
ring throttling,  and  the  match  is  usually 
mostly  contested  on  the  mat — that  is,  with 
the  two  wrestlers  down  and  each  struggling  to 
force  both  of  the  two  shoulders  of  the  other 
man  to  the  mat. 

In  Grseco-Roman  instead  of  sparring  for  a 
hold  and  being  allowed  to  seize  the  legs  or 
take  practically  any  grip,  the  wrestlers  only 
take  hold  from  the  head,  not  lower  than  the 
belt  or  waist,  and  each  wrestler  may  grasp 


238  ATHLETES  ALL 

his  own  wrist,  but  is  not  allowed  to  interlace 
fingers  or  the  like.  The  shoulders  touching 
the  ground  simultaneously  constitutes  a  fall. 

In  collar-and-elbow  the  men  wear  coats  or 
jackets  of  canvas,  so  made  that  they  may  be 
satisfactorily  grasped  at  the  collar  and  elbow 
by  an  opponent.  In  catch-as-catch-can  and 
Graeco-Roman  wrestling  the  contestants  wear 
stockings  or  sandals  or  go  barefoot.  In  col- 
lar-and-elbow they  usually  wear  rubber-soled 
sandals. 

In  collar-and-elbow  when  a  man  breaks 
his  hold  to  save  himself  he  forfeits  the  fall. 
A  fall  consists  of  two  hips  and  one  shoulder 
or  two  shoulders  and  one  hip  striking  the 
mat  simultaneously.  In  Devonshire  wres- 
tling men  usually  wrestle  in  boots  or  shoes, 
and  any  man  falling  on  his  knees  or  putting 
out  his  hand  to  prevent  a  fall  loses  the  fall. 
Here  again  two  shoulders  and  one  hip  or  two 
hips  and  one  shoulder  striking  the  mat  or 
ground  constitute  a  fall;  but  the  fall  must  be 
clean,  no  part  of  the  opponent's  body  touch- 
ing the  ground  before  the  fall.  This  is  en- 
tirely different  from  the  catch-as-catch-can, 
where  most  of  the  wresthng  is  done  on  the  mat. 


WEESTLING  AND  BOXING  239 

In  Devonshire  wrestling  the  hold  is  by  the 
jacket,  and  catching  by  the  legs  or  waistband 
is  a  foul. 

In  Cumberland  and  Westmoreland  the  op- 
ponents stand  up  facing  each  other,  each 
placing  his  chin  on  opponent's  right  shoulder, 
and  each  grasping  the  other  around  the  body, 
placing  his  left  arm  above  the  right  arm  of 
the  antagonist.  When  both  men  are  thus 
ready  the  wrestling  starts,  and,  kicking  alone 
barred,  they  are  allowed  to  use  every  legiti- 
mate means  to  throw  each  other.  Either 
party  breaking  his  hold  while  the  other  still 
retains  his  hold  loses  a  fall,  and  if  either  man 
touches  the  ground  with  his  knee  or  any 
other  part  of  his  body,  though  he  may  still 
retain  his  hold,  he  is  the  loser.  If  both  men 
fall  to  the  ground,  the  one  who  strikes  first  or 
who  falls  under  the  other  is  the  loser;  but  if 
they  fall  side  by  side  at  the  same  time  it  is  a 
"dog  fall,"  and  must  be  wrestled  over  again. 

In  the  side  hold  each  man  takes  hold  of 
his  opponent's  belt  with  his  right  hand  and 
grasps  with  his  other  hand  the  opposite  hand 
of  the  opponent.  The  men  toss  for  a  choice 
of  holds.    A  fall  consists  of  striking  on  the 


240  ATHLETES  ALL 

back  fairly  on  the  ground,  or  breaking  the 
hold,  but  the  contestants  may  drop  on  one  or 
both  knees  and  rise  again,  but  may  not  seize 
the  legs.  The  men  should  be  in  stocking  feet 
or  light  sandals. 

The  preparation  for  taking  up  wrestling 
consists  in  securing  a  mattress  or  mat  of  some 
kind.  Two  or  three  can  be  placed  together 
with  a  strip  of  canvas  over  them.  The  space 
occupied  ought  to  be  about  twenty-four  feet 
square,  but  less  will  answer. 

There  is  no  kind  of  wrestling  described 
above  that  may  not  be  attractive  to  boys  and 
may  not  be  indulged  in  with  benefit. 

BOXING 

Boxing,  too,  is  an  excellent  sport.  In  fact, 
in  camps  and  stations  during  the  war  this 
sport  furnished  the  most  general  competition 
of  all.  In  addition  to  this  it  was  found  to  be 
the  best  method  of  teaching  and  demonstrat- 
ing bayonet  fighting  that  could  possibly  be 
devised.  For  that  reason  it  should  become 
more  standardized  and  practised  in  school 
and  college.  It  is  capital  exercise  and  a 
good  developer  of  wind  and  muscle,  as  well 


WRESTLING  AND  BOXING  241 

as  of  quickness  and  agility.     Here  are  some 
good  rules  for  its  government: 

Section  1.  In  all  boxing  competitions  the  ring  shall 
not  be  less  than  16  feet  nor  more  than  24  feet  square, 
and  shall  be  formed  of  jwsts  and  ropes,  the  latter  ex- 
tending in  triple  lines,  two,  three,  and  four  feet  from 
the  floor  of  the  ring.  The  floor  of  the  ring  shall  extend 
beyond  the  lower  rope  for  a  distance  of  not  less  than 
two  feet.  Posts  must  be  properly  padded  and  padding 
on  floor  shall  be  not  less  than  one-half  inch  in  thick- 
ness. 

Section  2.  Competitors  must  box  in  regulation  ath- 
letic trunks,  reaching  to  the  knee,  in  shoes  without 
spikes,  or  in  socks,  and  use  boxing-gloves  not  less  than 
five  ounces  in  weight. 

Section  3.  Classes  to  be:  115  pounds  and  under;  126 
pounds  and  under;  136  pounds  and  under;  145  poimds 
and  under;  158  pounds  and  under;  175  pounds  and 
under;  and  over  175  pounds. 

Section  4.  An  athlete  who  fails  to  compete  after 
entering  an  event  shall  be  required  to  furnish  a  satis- 
factory excuse  for  such  failure  or  render  himself  liable 
to  censure  or  suspension  by  the  athletic  committee. 
Any  athlete  who  weighs  in  and  then  fails  to  compete 
without  an  excuse  satisfactory  to  the  athletic  commit- 
tee, shall  be  suspended  for  a  period  of  one  month. 
Competitors  shall  weigh  in  within  three  hours  of  a 
contest.  Weighing  in  shall  cease  in  each  class  when 
the  drawing  for  bouts  in  that  class  commences.  Com- 
petitors shall  sign  their  names  to  a  weighing  list  upon 
weighing  in  and  whenever  demanded  by  the  referee. 


242  ATHLETES  ALL 

Section  5.  The  boxing  committee  shall  prepare  an 
official  list  of  competent  boxing  officials  to  serve  as 
referees,  judges,  weighers,  timers,  announcers,  and  clerks 
of  boxing.  All  tournaments  must  be  conducted  by 
officials  selected  from  this  official  list. 

Section  6.  In  all  competitions  the  number  of  rounds 
to  be  contested  shall  be  three.  The  duration  of  rounds 
shall  be  limited  to  one  and  one-half  minutes  each  in- 
stead of  three  minutes.  The  interval  between  each 
round  shall  be  one  minute.  The  referee  may  order  one 
additional  round  as  provided  in  Section  9. 

Section  7.  A  competitor  failing  to  immediately 
respond  to  the  call  of  "time"  at  the  beginning  of  any 
round  shall  be  disqualified  by  the  referee  and  the  bout 
awarded  to  the  opponent. 

Section  8.  Immediately  before  the  contest,  com- 
petitors who  have  weighed  in  shall  draw  numbers  to 
determine  the  bouts  they  take  part  in.  The  contest 
to  be  as  follows:  Have  the  first  preliminary  round  to 
reduce  the  number  of  competitors  to  two,  four,  eight, 
sixteen,  and  so  on.  (Thus,  if  there  are  three  competi- 
tors, have  one  preliminary  bout  to  reduce  to  two;  if 
five,  have  one  bout  to  reduce  to -/our;  if  six,  have  two 
bouts  to  reduce  to  four;  if  seven,  have  three  bouts  to 
reduce  to  four;  if  nine,  have  one  bout  to  reduce  to 
eight;  if  ten,  have  two  bouts  to  reduce  to  eight;  if 
eleven,  have  three  bouts  to  reduce  to  eight,  and  so  on.) 
In  all  drawings  where  Numbers  1,  2,  3,  4,  and  so  on 
are  drawn,  Number  1  competes  with  Numbers  2,  3,  4, 
and  so  on.  When  the  class  is  brought  to  a  multiple  of 
2,  4,  8,  or  16,  the  contest  proceeds  regularly  to  the  final 
bout.  The  winner  of  the  final  bout  receives  first  prize, 
and  the  loser  receives  second. 


WRESTLING  AND  BOXING  243 

Section  9.  The  manner  of  judging  shall  be  as  fol- 
lows: There  shall  be  two  judges,  stationed  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  ring,  and  a  referee  in  the  ring.  At  the  end 
of  the  bout  each  judge  shall  write  the  name  of  the 
competitor  who  in  his  opinion  has  won,  and  shall  hand 
same  to  the  announcer.  In  case  the  judges  agree,  the 
name  of  the  winner  is  announced,  but  in  case  the  judges 
disagree,  the  announcer  shall  so  inform  the  referee, 
who  shall  thereupon  himself  decide.  If  the  referee 
is  in  doubt,  he  can  order  a  further  round,  limited  to  two 
minutes.  If  the  judges  then  fail  to  agree,  the  referee 
must  decide  in  favor  of  one  of  the  contestants. 

Section  10.  The  referee  shall  have  power  to  caution 
or  disqualify  a  competitor  for  any  infringement  of 
rules,  and  to  end  the  round  in  the  event  of  either  man 
being  knocked  down.  The  referee,  however,  shall  not 
count  over  a  competitor  who  has  been  knocked  down. 
If  such  knockdown,  in  his  opinion,  shall  incapacitate 
the  competitor  from  continuing,  the  referee  must  stop 
the  bout  and  announce  the  winner. 

Section  11.  The  decision  of  the  judges  or  the  referee, 
as  the  case  may  be,  shall  be  final. 

Section  12.  In  all  competitions  the  decision  shall  be 
made  in  favor  of  the  competitor  who  displays  the  best 
style  and  obtains  the  greatest  number  of  points.  The 
points  shall  be :  For  attack — direct  clean  hits  with  the 
knuckles  of  either  hand  on  any  part  of  the  front  or 
sides  of  the  head  or  body  above  the  belt.  For  defense 
— guarding,  slipping,  ducking,  counter-hitting,  or  get- 
ting away.  Where  points  are  otherwise  equal,  con- 
sideration to  be  given  to  the  man  who  does  the  most 
leading  oflF. 


244  ATHLETES  ALL 

Section  13  (very  important).  The  referee  may  dis- 
qualify a  competitor  who  is  boxing  unfairly,  by  kick- 
ing, gouging,  or  hitting  with  the  open  glove,  hitting 
with  the  inside  or  butt  of  the  hand,  the  wrist  or  elbow, 
hitting  or  catching  hold  below  the  waist,  hitting  when 
down  (one  knee  and  one  hand  or  both  knees  on  the 
floor),  striking  an  opponent  on  the  back  of  the  neck 
or  on  the  spine  or  over  the  kidneys,  holding  with  one 
hand  and  striking,  butting  with  head  or  shoulder,  hit- 
ting in  the  clinches,  wrestling,  or  roughing  at  the  ropes, 
using  offensive  and  scurrilous  language,  or  not  obeying 
the  orders  of  the  referee. 

Section  14.  Any  athlete  who  competes  in  a  boxing 
contest  of  longer  duration  than  provided  for  in  these 
rules  shall  be  suspended  for  such  period  as  the  athletic 
committee  shall  decide. 

Section  15.  Nothing  shall  be  used  for  the  protection 
of  the  hands  and  wrist  other  than  soft  cotton  bandages 
of  not  more  than  three  thicknesses  and  not  more  than 
two  layers  of  tape  back  of  the  knuckles,  hard  bandages 
or  substances  of  any  kind  being  prohibited.  Bandages 
are  subject  to  approval  of  the  referee. 

Section  16.  In  the  event  of  any  questions  arising 
not  provided  for  in  these  rules,  the  referee  shall  have 
full  power  to  decide  such  questions  and  also  interpret 
the  rules. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

KEEPING   FIT  IN   WINTER 

There  is  a  far  better  knowledge  nowadays 
regarding  the  evil  of  "suddenly  breaking 
training,"  as  it  is  called,  and  those  who  have 
been  exercising  as  vigorously  as  they  have 
been  called  upon  to  do  should  remember  that 
the  wise  plan  is  to  let  down  gradually.  Of 
course,  after  the  final  game,  it  is  only  natural 
that  the  boy  should  want  a  rest  temporarily, 
and  it  does  not  hurt  him  at  all  to  put  in  a  few 
days  of  relaxation  so  far  as  violent  muscular 
exercise  is  concerned.  He  will  do  well  to 
make  up  for  some  of  the  arrears  which  possi- 
bly worrying  over  an  important  contest  have 
brought  in  its  wake.  Plenty  of  good  sound 
sleep  is  the  best  rejuvenator  in  that  respect. 
Nor  because  a  boy  just  at  the  time  of  the 
great  contest  of  his  year  does  worry  a  little 
should  parents  or  others  consider  that  imfor- 
tunate,  or  charge  it  up  as  a  detriment  to  the 
sport.  A  boy  should  have  his  ambitions  and 
a  str©ng  desire  to  win  and  to  do  the  very  best 

245 


246  ATHLETES  ALL 

at  everything  to  which  he  puts  his  hand  or 
mind.  If  he  does  not  have  such  a  disposition 
he  is  not  Hkely  to  make  any  great  success  of 
American  Hfe  as  it  is  to-day.  But  he  cer- 
tainly should  throw  off  that  condition  after 
the  contest,  and  two  or  three  days  of  interest 
in  other  subjects,  and  good  sleep,  should  find 
him  normal  again. 

It  is  at  this  period,  however,  that  a  boy 
should  think  for  himself,  and  he  will  be  wise 
to  understand  that  he  should  go  on  with  his 
general  athletic  development,  even  though 
not  spurred  to  the  extreme  by  the  thought  of 
competition.  Now  is  also  the  time  to  apply 
himself  more  vigorously  than  ever  to  his 
school  work,  but  at  the  same  time  in  his  play 
hours  to  take  good,  vigorous  exercise,  and  on 
his  holidays  good  long  tramps  which  leave 
him  in  a  condition  to  put  in  nine  or  ten  hours' 
sound  sleep  at  night.  He  will  be  fitting  him- 
self for  his  winter  pastimes  by  doing  this  and 
getting  ready  for  the  skating  season,  with  its 
hockey  and,  perhaps,  also,  in  the  winter, 
basket-ball.  Just  a  word  of  caution  about 
this  latter.  It  is  usually  played  in  gymnasi- 
ums where  the  air  is  not  always  the  best,  and 


KEEPING  FIT  IN  WINTER  247 

where  it  never  can  be  as  good  as  the  outdoor 
air.  A  boy  may  safely  play  it,  however,  if  he 
gets  enough  out-of-doors  besides  this,  but  if  he 
stays  indoors  all  day  at  his  work,  and  then 
relies  entirely  upon  an  hour  of  basket-ball  in 
the  gymnasium  in  the  evening,  he  is  making  a 
mistake,  and  he  will  sooner  or  later  find  it 
out.  Basket-ball  is  an  excellent  pastime,  and 
played  out-of-doors  nothing  can  be  said 
against  it,  but  many  a  man  taking  it  up  as 
his  only  exercise  for  the  winter  has  found, 
much  to  his  surprise,  that  late  in  the  season 
he  feels  seedy  and  lacks  that  vigorous  feeling 
of  health  that  should  come  to  the  normal  boy 
who  is  taking  proper  care  of  himself.  This  is 
caused  by  two  things:  First,  the  lack  of  suffi- 
cient oxygen  in  the  air  of  a  gymnasium,  and, 
secondly,  by  the  usually  rather  warm  condi- 
tion of  that  air,  which  causes  more  profuse 
perspiration  than  is  really  needed  or  is  advan- 
tageous. [The  rules  of  basket-ball  are  too 
long  to  reprint  here,  but  most  boys  are  familiar 
with  them.] 

For  these  reasons,  hockey  out-of-doors  is  a 
better  builder-up.  Rink  hockey  has  some- 
thing of  the  same  objection  as  basket-ball,  al- 


248  ATHLETES  ALL 

though  not  so  marked,  as  the  air  is  colder 
and  there  is  usually  more  of  it  with  a  greater 
admixture  of  the  outside  atmosphere.  Many 
boys  do  not  have  the  opportunity  to  play 
these  games  in  the  winter,  but  every  boy  has 
a  chance  to  exercise  in  some  way,  and  plenty 
of  skating  and  coasting  will  keep  the  average 
boy  in  first-class  condition.  And  let  him  re- 
member never  to  give  up  the  instructions  at 
the  beginning  of  this  series  of  articles  relative 
to  his  morning  plunge  and  drink  of  fresh 
water,  and  keeping  his  mouth  and  body  clean. 
A  certain  amount  of  indoor  gymnasium  work 
may  be  taken  on,  provided,  as  stated  in  the 
case  of  basket-ball,  that  he  does  not,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  he  is  exercising  in  the  gymna- 
sium, go  without  some  kind  of  exercise  daily 
in  the  open  air.  As  to  what  the  boy  may  do 
in  the  gymnasium,  it  is  always  well  to  adopt 
some  definite  plan  because  that  will  keep  his 
interest  up.  If  he  feels  that  he  is  developing 
himself  for  some  one  of  his  special  sports,  it 
will  enable  him  to  do  better  work,  and  cer- 
tainly will  have  the  effect  of  making  that 
work  do  more  for  him. 
The  general  setting-up   exercises  may  be 


KEEPING  FIT  IN  WINTER  249 

practised  as  well  in  his  own  room  with  the 
windows  open  as  in  the  gymnasium,  and  there 
are  several  of  these  that  are  of  great  benefit 
not  only  to  the  boy's  carriage  but  his  ability 
to  perform  the  work  in  his  other  sports. 
These  setting-up  exercises  are  of  various  kinds, 
but  a  list  of  them  will  enable  the  boy  to 
make  a  selection,  not  doing  them  all,  perhaps, 
but  picking  out  various  ones  and  taking  five 
minutes  a  day  at  some  of  them. 

First,  let  him  stand  erect  with  his  heels 
together,  and  then,  bending  the  knees  and 
Hfting  the  heels,  go  down,  still  keeping  the 
body  in  an  upright  position  until  he  touches, 
or  almost  touches,  his  heels,  coming  up  again 
into  an  erect  posture. 

Then  let  him  stand  with  his  feet  somewhat 
more  widely  apart,  extend  his  arms  at  right 
angles  to  his  body  with  palms  down,  and  then 
turning  at  the  hips,  and  at  the  same  time 
letting  the  body  come  forward  at  the  hips,  put 
the  fingers  of  one  hand  to  the  ground,  or  to 
the  floor,  keeping  the  other  arm  extended  up 
into  the  air;  then  let  him  reverse  after  com- 
ing into  erect  position  again  and  let  him 
touch    the  ground  with   the  fingers  of  the 


250  ATHLETES  ALL 

other  hand,  bending  alternately  first  one  knee 
and  then  the  other.  It  will  be  found  when 
he  thus  swings  forward  and  puts  his  right 
fingers  to  the  floor  he  should  bend  his  right 
knee,  and  reverse  this,  bending  his  left  knee 
when  he  puts  the  fingers  of  his  left  hand  to 
the  floor. 

Then  let  him  stand  erect  once  more  with 
his  arms  straight  by  his  sides,  then  gradually 
raising  the  arms,  take  a  deep  inspiration  until 
they  are  once  more  horizontally  extended 
from  his  body;  then  let  him  let  them  down 
by  his  sides  and  slowly  let  the  air  out  of  his 
lungs. 

Once  more  raising  his  arms  to  the  level  of 
the  shoulders,  let  him  bring  his  hands  together 
in  front  of  him,  and  then  slowly  separate 
them  as  he  once  more  draws  in  a  long  breath. 
When  his  arms  are  back  again  on  the  level  of 
his  shoulders,  let  him,  while  still  holding  his 
breath,  bring  them  down  flat  against  his 
sides  and  then  let  him  let  the  air  out  of  his 
lungs.  Let  him  then  stand  some  three  feet 
from  the  wall  and,  raising  his  hands  once 
more  extended  straight  out  from  the  shoulders, 
turn  and  lean  forward,  touching  the  tips  of  his 


KEEPING  FIT  IN  WINTER  251 

fingers  to  the  wall,  and  then  by  a  spring  from 
his  fingers  push  himself  back  on  to  his  feet 
once  more.  He  can  do  this  first  with  one  hand 
and  then  with  the  other;  and  try  gradually 
extending  the  distance  from  the  wall  imtil  it 
is  with  diflSculty  that  he  can  push  himself 
back  into  balance  once  more. 

These  exercises  help  the  legs,  the  lungs,  the 
muscles  around  the  waist,  and  particularly 
give  the  boy  a  well-rounded  shoulder.  They 
have  the  advantage  also  that  they  may  be 
practised  without  any  gymnasium  apparatus, 
and  if  they  are  persevered  in  will  give  almost 
any  boy  a  good  symmetrical  development. 

Here  is  a  description  of  a  regular  standard 
"daily  dozen"  set-up,  used  very  largely  in 
the  navy  and  by  aviation  trainers,  which  will 
keep  any  boy  in  good  condition  when  taken 
in  connection  with  his  sports.  It  is  a  muscle 
stretching  which  creates  suppleness  and  re- 
sistive force. 

THE  DAILY  DOZEN  SET-UP 

The  Daily  Dozen  Set-Up  consists  of  twelve  exer- 
cises which,  for  ease  in  memorizing,  are  divided  into 
four  groups  of  three  exercises  each.     Each  exercise 


252 


ATHLETES  ALL 


or  movement  is  given  a  name,  and  the  names  of  all 
the  movements  of  a  group  commence  with  the  same 
letter,  thus: 


I 

n 

HI 

IV 

1. 

2. 
3. 

Hands 

Hips 

Head 

1. 

2. 
3. 

Grind 

Grate 
Grasp 

1. 

2. 
3. 

Crawl 

Curl 

Crouch 

1. 

2. 
3. 

Wave 

Weave 

Wing 

These  exercises  are  not  difficult  or  exhausting,  and 
do  not  demand  great  strength  for  proper  execution, 
but  they  are  designed,  both  from  a  scientific  and  a 
practical  point  of  view,  to  give  exactly  the  right  amount 
of  exercise  to  every  muscle  of  the  body.  They  are 
intended  to  promote  suppleness  and  especially  to 
strengthen  those  muscles  which  are  seldom  brought 
into  play  in  ordinary  daily  life.  A  conscientious  fif- 
teen minutes  a  day  with  the  Daily  Dozen  Set-Up 
will  soon  do  more  for  a  man  than  any  amount  of  skil- 
ful physical  feats  or  "strong-man  stunts."  When 
one  first  practises  these  movements,  their  effect  will 
be  felt  on  the  little-used  muscles  of  the  neck,  back, 
and  stomach;  yet  they  will  not  leave  the  pronounced 
muscular  fatigue  which  follows  the  ordinary  exercises, 
and  which  is  of  more  harm  than  good. 

Any  setting-up  exercises  should  be  preparatory ;  that 
is,  make  men  ready  Jor  the  serious  work  of  their  day,  and 
in  no  way  exhaust  any  portion  of  their  vitality.  This 
modem  "short-hand"  method  of  setting-up  leaves  men  in 
an  exhilarated  condition,  and,  instead  of  taking  any- 
thing out  of  them,  prepares  the  body  for  any  kind  of  work 
that  is  required. 


KEEPING  FIT  IN   WINTER  253 

Each  exercise  starts  from  the  position  of  Attention: 

1.  Heels  on  the  same  line,  and  as  near  each  other  as 

the  conformation  of  the  man  permits. 

2.  Feet  turned  out  equally  and  forming  with  each 

other  an  angle  of  about  60  degrees. 

3.  Knees  straight  without  stiffness. 

4.  Body  erect  on  hips,  inclined  a  little  forward;  shoul- 

ders square  and  falling  equally. 

5.  Arms  and  hands  hanging  naturally,  backs  of  the 

hands  outward;  thumbs  along  the  seams  of 
the  trousers;   elbows  near  the  body. 

6.  Head  erect  and  straight  to  the  front,  chin  shghtly 

drawn  in  without  constraint,  eyes  straight  to 
the  front.    See  Figure  1. 

The  Leader  takes  a  position  facing  the  men,  who 
should  be  so  placed  as  to  give  ample  room^for  unham- 
pered movement. 

Each  movement  should  be  executed  in  time  with 
the  orders  or  counting  of  the  Leader  which  should, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Speed  Test,  which  is  a  catch 
exercise,  be  slow  and  measured.  These  exercises  do 
not  depend  upon  snap  for  their  effect  upon  steady, 
deliberate  strain  of  the  muscles.  Any  tendency  toward 
hurried,  careless  execution  should  be  immediately 
discouraged  by  the  Leader  who  should,  at  all  times, 
insist  upon  uniformity  of  movement. 

In  the  following  instruction,  the  preparatory  com- 
mands are  in  capitals,  thus:  Obder.  The  commands 
of  execution  are  in  italics,  thus:  Hands.  Explanation 
of  each  movement  is  given  in  parentheses. 


254 


ATHLETES  ALL 


GROUP  I 


Hands:  Ready:  cross. 


Obdeb:  hands. 


Order:  rest 


1.  Hands 

(At  cross,  arms  are  extended 
laterally  and  horizontally, 
palms  down.     See  Figure 

2.) 

(At  hands,  the  arms  are 
brought  back  to  a  position 
of  Attention  close  to  the 
sides.  See  Figure  1.  Espe- 
cial care  should  be  taken  to 
see  that  whenever,  through- 
out the  exercises,  this  posi- 
tion is  taken — as  at  the 
completion  of  each  exercise 
— -full  control  is  retained 
over  the  arms,  and  the  hands 
should  not  be  allowed  to  slap 
against  the  sides  audibly.) 

(At  rest,  always  return  to  a 
position  of  Attention.  In 
this  case  there  would  be  no 
change.) 


Hips:  Ready:  cross. 
Order:  hips. 


Order:  rest. 


2.  Hips 

(At  hips,  the  hands  are  placed 
on  the  hips  with  shoulders, 
elbows,  and  thumbs  well 
back.    See  Figure  3.) 


8.   Crawl  !)■   tTiivvl 

(upright  position).  (crawl  position). 


10.  Curl 
(curl  position). 

THE  DAILY 


16.  Weave  (combination 
turn  and  bendj. 

17.  Winjt 
(stretch  position). 

18.  Wing 
(wing  position) 

Zf:\  SET-UP. 

KEEPmG  FIT  IN  WINTER  ^5 

3.  Head 
Head:  Ready:  cross. 

Obder:  head.  (At  head,  the  hands  are 
placed  behind  the  neck,  in- 
dex-finger-tips just  touch- 
ing, and  elbows  forced 
back.  See  Figure  4.) 
Order:  rest. 

The  above  exercises  should  be  executed  but  a  few 
times  each,  being  preparatory  to  the  Speed  Test. 

Speed  Test 
In  this,  the  preparatory  command.  Order,  is  omitted 
and  the  Leader  gives  the  commands.  Head,  hips,  hands, 
etc.,  in  sharp  succession,  varying  them,  and  occasionally 
repeating  a  command  in  a  manner  calculated  to  catch 
the  unwary  napping. 

Speed  Test  * 
Speed,  Test,  Omitting  the  Word  "Order":  hands, 
hips,  head,  etc. 
Order:  rest. 

The  length  of  time  devoted  to  this  movement  is 
left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Leader. 

GROUP  II 

1.  Grind 
Grind:  Ready:  cross. 

Palms:    turn.         (At    turn,    the    palms    are 
turned  up  with  backs  of 
*  This  should  be  performed  with  snap  and  speed. 


256  ATHLETES  ALL 

hands    down    and    arms 
forced  back  as  far  as  pos- 
sible.    See  Figure  5.) 
Order:  grind.        (At  grind,  and  in  time  with 
one  the    Leader's     measured 

troo  counting,  circles  of  twelve 

three  inches  diameter   are  de- 

four  scribed   with   the  finger- 

five  tips  which  move  forward 

to  and      downward,      then 

ten.  backward    and    upward, 

the  arms  remaining  stiff, 

and  pivoting  from  the 
shoulders.  On  the  back- 
ward movement  of  the 
circle,  the  arms  should  be 
forced  back  to  the  limit. 
A  complete  circle  should 
be  described  at  each 
count.) 
Reverse.  (At  reverse,  the  same  process 
one  should  be  gone  through, 

to  the  circle  being  described 

ten  in  the  opposite  direction.) 

Order:  rest. 

Ten  circles  are  described  in  each  direction. 

2.  Grate 

Grate:  Ready:  cross. 

Order:  grate.         (At  grrafe,  and  as  the  Leader 
one  counts  one,  the  arms  are 


KEEPING  FIT  IN  WINTER  257 

ttoo.  slowly  raised,  as  a  deep 

inhalation  is  taken,  to  an 

angle  of  45  degrees  from 
horizontal,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  heels  are 
raised  till  the  weight  of 
the  body  rests  on  the 
balls  of  the  feet.  See 
Figure  6.  At  two,  the 
arms  are  returned  to  cross, 
as  all  air  is  exhaled,  and 
the  heels  are  lowered  to  a 
normal  position.  Care 
should  be  taken  to  see 
that  the  arms  are  not  al- 
lowed to  drop  below  the 
level  of  the  shoulders  or 
rise  more  than  45  de- 
grees.) 

Obder:  rest. 

The  arms  should  be  raised  and  lowered  ten  times. 

3.  Grasp 

Grasp:  Ready:  cross. 

Order:  grasp.  (At  grasp,  the  position  head, 

one  is  taken.     See  Figure  4. 

two  With  head  up  and  eyes 

three  front,  and  in  time  with 

four  the     Leader's    counting, 

one,  two,  three,  four,  the 

one  body  is  bent  forward  from 


ftB8  ATHLETES  ALL 

t 

two  the  waist,  as  far  as  pos- 

three  sible.    See  Figure  7.    The 

four  body  is  returned  to  up- 

right  in  the  same  number 

one  of  counts  and  at  an  un- 

two  usually  slow  one  is  bent  as 

far  back  as  possible  from 

the  waist,  being  returned 
to  upright  at  tioo.  Care 
should  be  taken  to  see 
that  this  motion  is  sus- 
tained and  not  jerky.) 

Obder;  rest. 

The  entire  movement  should  be  repeated  five  times. 

GROUP  III 

1.  Crawl 

Crawl:    Ready:  cross.  (At  crawl,  the  left  palm  is 

Order:  crawl.  turned   up    and   as    the 

one  Leader  counts  one,  two, 

two  three,  four,  the  left  arm  is 

three  raised  and  the  right  arm 

four  lowered  laterally  until  at 

four  the  right  arm  should 

one  be  in  a  position  of  hands, 

two  and  the  left  arm  should 

three  be  extended  straight  up 

four  with    the    palm    to    the 

right.       See    Figure    8. 

Then,    as    the    Leader 


KEEPING  FIT  IN   WINTER  259 

counts  one,  tuoo,  three,  the 
body  is  slowly  bent  side- 
wise  from  the  waist,  the 
right  hand  sUpping  down 
the  right  leg  to  or  beyond 
the  knee  and  the  left  arm 
bending  in  a  half  circle 
over  the  head  until  the 
fingers  touch  the  right 
ear.  See  Figure  9.  At 
four  the  position  of  cross 
is  quickly  resumed,  and 
as  the  Leader  commences 
to  count  again,  the  right 
palm  is  turned  up  and  the 
exercise  completed  in  the 
opposite  direction.) 
Order:  rest. 

The  entire  movement  should  be  repeated  five  times. 

2.  Curl 

Curl:       Ready:  cross.       (In  this  movement,  at  cross, 

the  feet  are  spread  until 
the  heels  are  about 
twelve  inches  apart.  The 
left  foot  remains  station- 
ary, the  right  foot  being 
moved  to  accompKsh 
this.) 
Order:  curl.  (At  curl,  and  as  the  Leader 
one  counts    one,    two,    three. 


260  ATHLETES  ALL 


two  four,  the  fists  and  lower 

three  arms  are  bent  down  from 

four  the    elbows    which    are 

kept  pressed  back,  and 

one  the  fists  are  curled  into 

two  the  arm  pits.    This  posi- 

three  tion  should  be  reached  at 

four  three,  when  the  head  and 

SHOULDERS     should     bc 

one  forced  back  very  strong- 

ttoo  ly,  reaching  the  limit  of 

three  motion  at  four.    See  Fig- 

four  ure    10.      The    Leader 

again    counts    one,    two, 

three,  four.  At  one  the 
arms  are  extended 
straight  forward  from  the 
shoulders,  palms  down. 
See  Figure  11.  At  two 
the  arms  begin  to  fall  and 
the  body  bends  forward 
from  the  waist,  head  up 
and  eyes  front,  until,  at 
four,  the  body  has 
reached  the  limit  of  mo- 
tion and  the  arms  have 
passed  the  sides  and  have 
been  forced  back  and  (as 
the  trunk  assumes  a  hori- 
zontal position)  up  as  far 
as  possible.  See  Figure 
18.     (Note  that  in  this 


KEEPING  FIT  IN  WINTER  261 

Figure  feet  are  together, 
which  is  incorrect,  for 
this  exercise.)  This  is 
the  wing  position.  For 
a  third  time,  the  Leader 
counts  one,  two,  three, 
four,  as  the  body  is 
straightened,  reaching  an 
upright  position  with 
arms  straight  forward  at 
three.  Cross  is  resumed 
at  four.  As  the  body  is 
straightened  from  the 
wing  position,  a  full 
breath  should  be  taken, 
the  lungs  being  filled  to 
the  maximum  as  cross  is 
resumed  at  the  comple- 
tion of  the  movement. 
This  breath  should  be  re- 
tained during  the  curl 
movement,  and  exhaled 
as  the  loing  position  is 
taken.  Inhale  through 
the  nose.) 
Order:  rest. 

The  entire  movement  should  be  repeated  five  times. 

3.  Crouch 

Crouch:  Ready:  cross.       (In  this  movement,  at  cros«, 

the  feet  are  spread  until 


262 


ATHLETES  ALL 


Obdee:  crouch. 


one 


two 


the  heels  are  about 
twelve  inches  apart.  The 
left  foot  remains  station- 
ary, the  right  foot  being 
moved  to  accomplish 
this.) 
(At  crouch,  the  knees  are 
bent  and,  with  the  weight 
on  the  toes,  the  body  is 
lowered  nearly  to  the 
heels,  keeping  the  trunk 
as  nearly  erect  as  pos- 
sible. See  Figure  12. 
This  is  done  at  one  and  at 
two  the  upright  position 
is  resumed.) 


Order:  rest. 


The  entire  movement  should  be  repeated  ten  times. 


GROUP  IV 


1.  Wave 


Wave:    Ready:  cross. 
Order:  wave, 
one 
two 
three 
Jour 


(At  wave,  the  arms  are 
stretched  straight  above 
the  head,  fingers  inter- 
laced and  arms  touching 
the  ears.  See  Figure  13. 
Then,  as  the  Leader 
counts  one,  two,  three. 
Jour,  a  complete  circle,  of 


KEEPING  FIT  IN   WINTER 


263 


Reverse. 

one 

etc. 


Order:  rest. 


about  twenty-four  inches 
diameter,  is  described 
with  the  hands,  the  body 
bending  only  at  the 
waist.  The  trunk  should 
be  bent  as  far  backward 
as  forward,  and  as  far  to 
one  side  as  to  the  other. 
The  body  should  be  for- 
ward at  one,  to  the  right 
at  two,  backward  at  three, 
and  to  the  left  at  four. 
The  motion  should  be 
steady  and  not  in  jerks.) 

(At  reverse,  the  same  move- 
ment should  be  repeated 
in  the  opposite  direction, 
i.  €.,  to  the  left.) 

(At  Order,  the  body 
should  be  brought  to  an 
erect  position,  stretching 
the  arms  up  as  far  as  pos- 
sible; and  at  rest,  the 
arms  should  drop  slowly, 
laterally,  to  a  hands  posi- 
tion.) 


Five  circles  should  be  described  in  each  direction. 


2.  Weave 


Weave:  Ready:  cross. 


(In  this  movement,  at  cross, 
the  feet  are  spread  until 


264 


ATHLETES  ALL 


Order:  weave 
one 
two 
three 
four 

one 
two 
three 
four 


the  heels  are  about 
twelve  inches  apart. 
The  left  foot  remains 
stationary,  the  right  foot 
being  moved  to  accom- 
plish this.) 
(At  weave,  and  as  the  Lead- 
er counts  one,  two,  three, 
four,  the  body  is  turned 
to  the  left  from  the  hips, 
the  arms  maintaining  the 
same  relation  to  the 
shoulders  as  at  cross,  un- 
til at  one,  the  face  is  to 
the  left,  the  right  arm 
pointing  straight  forward 
(in  relation  to  the  feet) 
and  the  left  arm  straight 
backward.  See  Figure 
14.  At  two,  the  body  is 
bent  from  the  waist  so 
that  the  right  arm  goes 
down  and  the  left  up,  un- 
til, at  three,  the  fingers  of 
the  right  hand  touch  the 
ground  midway  between 
the  feet.  The  left  arm 
should  then  be  pointing 
straight  up,  with  the  face 
still  to  the  left.  The 
right  knee  must  be  slight- 
ly   bent    to    accompUsh 


KEEPING  FIT  IN   WINTER  265 

this  position.  See  Figure 
15.  At  four,  the  position 
of  cross  is  resumed  and  as 
the  Leader  again  counts 
one,  two,  three,  four,  the 
same  movement  is  re- 
peated with  the  left  hand 
touching  the  ground  this 
time.  Throughout  the 
exercise,  care  should  be 
taken  that  the  arms  re- 
main in  the  same  straight 
line,  making  no  separate 
movement,  but  changing 
their  position  only  as  the 
trunk  and  shoulders  are 
moved  and  carry  the 
arms  along.  After  this 
exercise  has  been  thor- 
oughly mastered,  the 
turning  and  bending 
movements  made  on  the 
counts,  one  and  two, 
should  be  combined,  i.  e., 
instead  of  making  the  en- 
tire turn,  as  described 
above,  before  bending, 
turn  and  bend  simultan- 
eously. See  Figure  16.) 
Ordeb:  rest. 

The  entire  movement  should  be  repeated  ten  times. 


266 


ATHLETES  ALL 


3.  Wing 


Wing: 


Ready:  cross. 

Order:  iving. 
one 
two 
three 
four 

one 

two 

three 

four 


(At  vnng,  and  as  the  Leader 
CM)unts  one,  two,  three, 
four,  the  arms  are  raised 
laterally  until  they  are 
extended  straight  up- 
ward at  one.  See  Figure 
17.  At  two,  the  arms  be- 
gin to  fall  forward  and 
downward  and  the  body 
bends  forward  from  the 
waist,  head  up  and  eyes 
front,  until  at  four,  the 
body  has  reached  the 
limit  of  motion  and  the 
arms  have  passed  the 
sides  and  have  been 
forced  back  and  (as  the 
trunk  assumes  a  horizon- 
tal position)  up  as  far  as 
possible.  See  Figure  18. 
As  the  Leader  again 
counts  one,  two,  three, 
four,  the  body  is  straight- 
ened, reaching  an  upright 
position,  with  arms  ver- 
tically extended,  at  three. 
At  four,  the  arms  are  low- 
ered to  a  cross  position 
but  with  palms  up  and 


KEEPING  FIT  IN   WINTER  267 

arms  and  shoulders 
forced  hard  back.  Very 
slow  counting  is  essential 
to  the  correct  execution 
of  this  exercise.  All  air 
should  be  forced  from  the 
lungs  as  the  body  bends 
forward  to  the  vring  posi- 
tion, and  they  should  be 
filled  to  capacity  as  the 
body  is  straightened  and 
the  arms  brought  down. 
Inhale  through  the  nose.) 
Order:  rest. 

The  entire  movement  should  be  repeated  five  times. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 
CONDENSED  FOOTBALL  PLAN 

As  it  is  impossible  within  the  scope  of  this 
volume  to  deal  in  detail  with  such  a  matter 
as  the  full  instructions  for  coaching  that  most 
popular  of  our  fall  sports,  football,  we  are 
giving  what  will  prove  the  most  serviceable 
advice,  namely,  a  condensed  schedule  show- 
ing how  to  handle  spring  practice  or  the  pre- 
liminary practice  in  the  fall. 

GENERAL    PROGRAMME   FOOTBALL   SQUAD 

SPRING  OR  EARLY  FALL  FOOTBALL  PRACTICE 

Monday 

U  Candidates  for  Back  Field. — Punting,  catching 
punts,  goal-kicking,  place  and  drop  kicking — ten  to 
fifteen  minutes. 

All  Candidates  for  Line. — Falling  upon  the  ball — 
five  to  ten  minutes.    Charging — five  minutes. 

Squad  is  divided,  the  backs  practising  forward  pass- 
ing and  interfering  (light),  while  the  linemen  practise 
blocking — five  to  fifteen  minutes.  Backs  also  work  on 
standing  dummy  practice,  keeping  their  feet. 

268 


CONDENSED  FOOTBALL  PLAN  269 

Linemen  practise  "duck  walk,"*  while  the  backs 
practise  starting — five  to  fifteen  minutes. 

Ends  join  the  squad  of  backs  and  practise  passing, 
also  work  on  the  standing  dummy.  Keeping  their  feet 
when  striking  it,  while  the  other  linemen  practise  start- 
ing— ^five  to  ten  minutes. 

Tuesday 

Punting,  catching,  goal-kicking,  place  and  drop  kick- 
ing, while  the  squad  is  gathering — ten  to  twenty- 
minutes. 

Backs  practise  forward  passing  and  interfering  on 
dummy,  while  the  linemen  practice  breaking  through 
and  charging  each  other — five  to  fifteen  minutes. 

Linemen  tackle  each  other  and  do  the  duck  walk, 
while  the  backs  fall  upon  the  ball — stationary  and  roll- 
ing— two  going  after  it  at  once — five  to  fifteen  minutes. 

Running  down  under  punts — five  to  ten  minutes. 

Running  through  signals — ten  to  twenty  minutes. 

Wednesday 

Same  practice  as  on  Monday  and  Tuesday,  while 
squad  is  gathering. 

Open  field  running  with  the  ball  and  phantom  tack- 
ling— ten  to  fifteen  minutes.  After  first  week  this  can 
be  real  tackling  with  three  men  in  line,  five  yards  apart, 
for  the  runner  to  carry  the  ball  through. 

Backs  and  ends  practise  passing  and  catching,  while 

*  "  Dtuik  Walk." — Bend  the  knees,  keeping  body  straight.  Then 
walk,  or  rather  waddle,  along  in  this  position. 


870  ATHLETES  ALL 

the  linemen  practise  falling  upon  the  ball  in  competi- 
tion— ten  to  fifteen  minutes. 

Duck  walk  by  linemen — five  minutes. 

Running  through  signals — ten  to  fifteen  minutes. 

Thursday 
The  same  programme  as  on  Wednesday. 

Friday 

Punting,  catching  punts,  goal-kicking,  and  quick 
place  or  drop  kicking,  the  same  as  upon  other  days. 

Practise  falling  upon  the  ball,  tackling,  and  charg- 
ing, running  down  on  punts,  with  especial  attention  to 
slowing  up  before  reaching  runner. 

Short  but  fast  signal  practice.  Backs  kick  quickly 
from  close  behind  line. 

Preliminary  Practice  Duties 
Detail  a  man  to  watch  each  job,  if  possible. 

Kicking.   Charging.   Interference.   Catching.   Snapping. 
Quarter  Play 

Covering  Kicks.     Forward  Passing.     Blocking.     Use  of 
Hands.    Tackling  Backs;  Line.    Protecting  Kicker 


ATHLETES'  CODE 


ATHLETES'  CODE 

I  SHOULD  like  to  impress  upon  every  boy 
who  reads  this  book  one  most  important  fact, 
and  that  fact  is  this,  that  the  boy  is  the 
most  promising  member  of  the  commmiity. 
Professor  Sumner,  that  noted  social-science 
scholar,  has  said  that  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  accomplish  much  in  changing  or  improv- 
ing the  man  of  thirty;  that  his  habits  and 
ways  are  by  that  age  so  formed  that  it  is 
doubtful  whether  in  the  main  they  may  be 
materially  altered.  But  the  younger  genera- 
tion is  the  promising  material,  the  material 
from  which  the  structure  of  the  coming  so- 
ciety must  be  builded.  It  is  that  material 
that  may  be  moulded.  And  every  youth 
should  remember  that  no  amount  of  labor 
and  care  and  foresight  on  the  part  of  his 
elders  can  accomplish  much  except  through 
the  willingness  and  desire  of  the  man  him- 
self to  develop,  to  acquire  strength  of  mind 
and  body,  courage,  and  manliness. 

278 


274  ATHLETES  ALL 

This  same  gentleman,  Professor  Sumner, 
has  supplied  a  test  to  which  he  subjected 
those  who  would  offer  an  innovation  in  meth- 
ods. When  any  one  came  to  him  with  a  prop- 
osition, he  asked  him  three  questions:  What 
is  it?  How  do  you  know  it?  What  of  it? 
That  is  what  each  man  must  put  before  him- 
self. 

We  wish  to  have  every  man  in  the  service 
or  in  the  school  take  his  athletics  in  the  high- 
est spirit.  He  should  in  the  best  sense  "play 
the  game"  fairly,  honestly,  and  earnestly. 
He  begins  at  the  beginning  with  the  sup- 
position that  everything  is  to  be  learned;  he 
starts  at  the  bottom,  hence  it  is  that  when 
we  send  the  athlete  out  into  the  world  he  is 
ready  to  begin  the  same  way,  and  not  expect 
to  know  it  all,  or  to  aspire  to  responsible 
positions  without  long  and  earnest  work  in 
the  form  of  training.  Those  who  think  that 
the  remarkable  athlete  is  spoiled  by  the 
adulation  of  the  newspapers  and  his  fellows, 
say  that  he  expects  unusual  or  undue  pre- 
ferment when  he  goes  out  into  the  world, 
must,  it  seems  to  me,  regard  him  as  un- 
usually in  need  of  brains.     He  is  only  sepa- 


ATHLETES'  CODE  275 

rated  from  the  outside  world  by  the  class 
who  went  before  him,  and  he  has  seen  the 
stars  of  the  previous  class  go  out  and  work 
immediately  as  office  boys.  Can  one  suppose 
for  a  moment  that  he  does  not  take  this  les- 
son to  heart  and  does  not  fully  realize  that 
he  must  do  the  same?  In  fact,  he  is  better 
prepared  by  his  athletic  experience  in  school 
and  college  to  take  up  the  drudgery  at  the 
bottom  than  a  man  who  has  not  acquired 
exactly  that  experience  in  sports  in  his  col- 
lege days. 

Young  men  need  strenuous  games  at  the 
time  of  life  when  they  are  fitted  for  them. 
Their  very  virility  depends  upon  this,  and 
the  greater  their  desire  for  such  games  the 
better  the  signs  of  their  future  development 
in  integrity,  strength,  and  masterful  pur- 
poses. But  they  must  not  use  their  powers  as 
bullies  and  tyrants,  and  the  organized  games 
prevent  this. 

Times  may  change,  but  not  nature.  Let 
not  the  parent  think  that  his  later  experiments 
in  diet,  in  more  mature  life,  mean  that  there 
will  never  be  a  desire  for  the  same  "cakes 


276  ATHLETES  ALL 

and  candy"  that  he  enjoyed  when  he  was 
young. 

"For  lo,  the  same  old  myths  that  made  the  early  stage 
successes. 
Still  hold  the  boards,  and  still  are  played  with  new 
effects  and  dresses." 

Nature  will  always  smile  at  the  desire  to 
make  the  weak  youth  the  popular  hero  of 
the  young  man's  world.  She  has  embedded 
in  the  marrow  of  the  boy's  bones  the  admira- 
tion for  physical  prowess,  because  she  wishes 
the  boy  to  become  physically  developed  be- 
fore a  great  strain  is  thrown  upon  his  whole 
mental  processes.  It  is  not  the  physical 
bravery  alone  that  excites  admiration.  It  is 
the  capacity  to  overcome  the  feeling  of  de- 
pression that  ensues  in  the  face  of  impending 
failure.  The  sound  pluck,  or  call  it  what  you 
will,  that  leads  the  boy  or  man  to  fight  on 
heroically  when  the  other  side  is  ahead  is  a 
splendid  asset,  not  alone  for  the  man  who 
goes  into  the  service  of  his  country  on  the 
battle-field,  but  also  for  civilian  advance- 
ment. 


ATHLETES'  CODE  277 

If  one  examines  into  the  real  facts,  he  finds 
that  in  the  days  before  organized  athletics,  it 
was  not  studies  that  filled  up  this  gap,  but 
town  and  gown  riots  and  dissipation  of  many 
forms.  Athletics  teach,  also,  team  work  in 
opposition  to  individualism  and  selfish  pur- 
poses, and  it  is  working  for  others  or  for  a 
common  cause  that  is  necessary  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  best  forces  in  military  life 
and  also  for  municipal  and  civic  life. 

Play  fair,  but  play  hard;  win  if  you  can, 
lose  if  you  must,  but  take  a  whipping  with- 
out whimpering.  Thus,  and  thus  only,  will  a 
youth  make  of  himself  what  we  all  admire, 
and  what  we  class  as  a  thoroughbred,  and, 
started  right,  he  will  always  be  a  thorough- 
bred. 


OL 


n 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


MAY  1  5  195a 

RECEIVED 
LD-URL 

7-4  4-9  % 

4 


3inr 


Form  L9-10m-6,'52(A1855)444 


"^i^jisoNvsoi^      %a3A!Nnmv 


-<UF.fl>Jf\7FDC/>. 


in^AMmPr 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  F 


A   001  341  367'  9 


>1 


M 


1J')NVS01 


